Skyrim: Origins of the Voice
by Aaron Ledgers
Summary: Every Nord knows of the Dragonborn; what they DON'T know is that Skyrim is shattered into multiple planes of existence. Every time a Dovahkiin succeeds in vanquishing Alduin, he is reborn into a parallel universe where a new Dragonborn awaits. It is an endless cycle in which many men have died for naught... but this time, the Dragonborn is a mute little girl with a different goal.
1. Chapter 1: It Begins

**Chapter One: It Begins**

The sun was just beginning to rise when the sound of an odd concussion struck against the air like a drum.

Ula twitched awake because of the sensation that swept through her as a result: tiredly opening her shimmering amethyst eyes and staring up at the sky, she blinked like an owl that had been woken up much too early and yawned. She felt groggy and rather confused, since she really couldn't understand why she'd fallen asleep outside... but then, there was another concussion, and she twitched a second time. It had been a lot fainter and lacked the jarring impact of the first, but something about it made her hair stand up.

However, the sound didn't come again: only the chirping of the birds could be heard.

Ula sleepily blinked again before her eyelids slowly drooped and slid closed: she was extremely tired and didn't want to wake up just yet.

The bark beneath her almost seemed to have molded to fit the shape of her body... it was almost as soft as her bed, maybe even more so.

She was currently lying on a branch in an enormous cherry tree near the edge of Darkwater Village: her silver hair was fanned out across the bark and in some places it hung openly in the air, rippling in the breeze like strands of liquid moonlight. Early morning light was playing across her pale skin in the dapples made by the leaves hanging overhead, making her feel somewhat more awake. The last thing she could recall was coming here to count the stars, so she must have fallen asleep without realizing it.

That's when another far-off concussion split the air, making her eyes fly open in confusion.

After sitting up, Ula winced when her head spun.

Her hair slid over her skinny shoulders when she touched her forehead.

Cherry Blossoms had bloomed around her body again… there were beautiful pink flowers growing out of twigs all around her.

Letting out a small sigh, the girl leaned close to the flowers and inhaled the scent of green and growing things. Then she glanced at the brightening sky and realized that it was most likely time to start helping in the tavern kitchens. Eyes widening, the girl hastily climbed to her feet and clutched the side of the tree before looking at the branches lying thirty feet below her with calculating eyes; completely mindless of her dirty dress, the girl lifted her arms out to the sides and started running along the limb she'd been sleeping on. Then she leapt down to the next branch and caught her balance before repeating the nimble jumping process.

Soon she came to a spot she'd missed in her inspection: it was too far to reach by merely jumping.

Cocking her head in a puzzled manner, the girl eyed her options even as another, much closer, concussion split the air. Using a bit of improvisation, the white-haired girl managed to slide off the branch she was crouching on and clasped the limb. Then, after steadying the position of her legs, the girl carefully swung her body a bit to the left before letting go and dropping twelve feet to the branch below her. She landed with a wince since a twig cut her foot, but aside from that, she was fine.

Getting down after that was easy, and soon she was on soft grass.

Dusting herself off, the girl made her way back down the rocky bluffs towards the village. As she walked, she took stock of her surroundings: there wasn't much to see, really, just massive, mossy trees and low-lying ferns heaped amongst the craggy recesses… but beyond that was the beach and the lake.

Ula had always been fascinated by water for some reason.

When she managed to make it down to the village, two dark-haired children ran out of a nearby house and nearly crashed into her. The two of them were laughing and giggling about something that only children could understand, but her eyes softened a little as she watched them happily run off towards the edge of town.

The older village children often teased her mercilessly over her different coloring… her almost-colorless skin and cloud-white hair were a stark contrast to the majority of the people in Skyrim, who had ivory skin and platinum blonde hair at the very lightest. Not to mention she had always been bullied for having pointed ears… lots of people, even a few adults, sometimes called her the Elf girl.

And since elves were highly disliked for some weird reason, it wasn't all that surprising to see hostility being directed at her.

Several people had already started wondering what manner of being the girl really was, especially since she didn't resemble any of the known factions in Skyrim.

There were a few who said she was most likely some form of hybrid elf, but then again... Ula just didn't fall into that category.

She was... of a different sort.

For example, wood elves had a very queer pigmentation: their skin tones ranged from different shades of peach, orange, and vermillion, and nobody had never seen one with such clear, light eyes. More often than not, their eyes were very sickly looking, with yellowed whites and unnatural irises. The Thalmor... or in other words, High Elves... had skin the color of yellow wildflowers: it didn't matter the shade, their skin was always yellow. Dark elves were completely out of the question since their skin ranged from different shades of blue and grey... and while Ula was abnormally pale, she still had a somewhat humanistic tint to her skin.

No one knew where Ula was from.

In fact, nobody was even sure what her real name was, and since she couldn't tell them... she'd decided to let them name her what they wanted_. _

Some believed she'd fallen into the lake since she'd just washed up on shore one morning. Others also wondered where she was from since her appearance was so strange. In reality, there was a lot of speculation about what had really caused her to show up the way she did… but nobody knew the truth of it. Eventually, most people simply decided that it didn't matter where she'd come from or what sort of being she was.

Ula was Ula, and her home was in Darkwater Crossing: that was what mattered the most.

However, despite that resolve... many of the townsfolk had grown worried over the years since she'd been showing signs of wielding some sort of strange, powerful magicka. Whenever she was sad, melancholy, or depressed… the sky would darken and it would rain until her mood improved. Whenever she was angry, fierce storms would spring up out of nowhere, bringing a barrage of savage lightning and hail that pelted Darkwater Crossing mercilessly. Many villagers even claimed to have seen flowers blooming in the path of her footsteps when she was happy.

However, Chief Rain had addressed these issues as nothing more than coincidences.

After all, Ula was young: what harm could one fifteen-year-old girl possibly do?

She was inclined to agree, since she didn't really think there was anything special about herself... she wasn't special at all, really.

Still, despite the early morning hour, everyone was already working hard.

Men were heading for the mines to haul in ore, women were baking and selling things in their shops, the local blacksmith was mingling together with her father and helping him with forging specific tasks, and children were playing with each other and their dogs. Ula paused when the sun suddenly slid over the horizon and filled the world with morning light, shielding her eyes from the harsh glare. However, once her sensitive eyes had adjusted, she beheld a gorgeous pink and yellow sunrise.

The sight of it had her smiling, eyes sparkling like they always did when she beheld the beauty of her home.

In reality, Darkwater Crossing was a beautiful place to live: there were always specific types of music in the world around her, the different essences of life… many songs of existence that constantly intermingled with each other. The silver mines afforded a difficult, but very pleasant life: ore would be retrieved and chores would be completed, but when all was said and done, friends and family would gather to talk and laugh around the fires in the tavern. Perhaps she'd even get to dance with Kai again… he'd asked her to dance a few times in the past, but the most recent one had been very different.

He'd danced with her like a man, not a boy: there had been a fire in his eyes when he'd looked at her.

A fire that had reminded her of her sister's warm home, of happiness, of joy...

It had been a beautiful feeling.

Kai was an eighteen-year-old Nord with black hair, copper skin, and bright amber eyes: he'd been friends with her ever since the day she'd washed up on the lake shore. He had a chiseled figure and firm muscles from all the work it took to be a woodsman and a miner, and he had also become undeniably handsome in recent years: his looks had already drawn the attention of several village women. He was also an extremely cheerful young man: his existence was practically a miniature sun.

Kai was always spreading the light of happiness wherever he went.

Ula, on the other hand… well, she was his polar opposite.

She was like the moon: quiet and gentle, but still spreading light wherever she went.

The sound of a nearby dog growling made her turn around in surprise.

Ula immediately froze, shivering violently and huddling down on herself: the Imperials were back again...

Everyone glared at them when they strode through the village as though they owned it.

Then she spotted her sister, Svena, walking out of the tavern with her arms full of potato sacks, obviously finishing up her shopping for dinner.

Svena was nineteen, and unlike the majority of the women in their village, she had kept her curly hair extremely short since it was difficult to maintain... but almost as if to make up for not having long hair… she'd developed a very womanly body that usually had male heads turning all over the place. Her sister had also discovered on her sixteenth birthday that she had a strong talent for the use of curative magicka, which is why she'd become an apprentice healer.

In the eyes of the villagers, Svena was flawless: a classic beauty.

Ula blinked a few times when Svena turned around and headed her way. The silver-haired girl's pink eyes lit up and she stood on her tiptoes in order to wave at her sibling, trying to catch her eye. When the blue-eyed Red Guard noticed her, she instantly smiled and waved right back in a cheerful manner, hefting her sacks in order to do so. However, it was in that moment that a thunderous sensation slapped against the air, sending a wave of sand and dirt flying up the streets from the direction of the Inn.

Ula's long hair was blasted forward by the gale that assaulted her from behind.

In fact, she even stumbled a little bit from the force of it.

After a moment of coughing and sneezing, the silver-haired girl rubbed her stinging back with a whine and slowly turned around, looking down the street in total confusion: she really didn't know what had just hit her. Likewise, nobody else seemed to know, either: everyone had stopped talking and was now looking down the street with startled eyes, trying to figure out what had caused the gust and the odd sensation of feeling thunder without the sound.

"Ula!" Svena called, hefting her satchels before running up to her and putting a protective hand on her shoulder. "What _was_ that? Do you know?"

The albino merely looked up at her and shook her head to signify that she didn't.

Both girls turned to face the street yet again when a man in blue bolted around a corner with his sword drawn... then more people in blue, all of them fair skinned, tore after him with frantic expressions. Among them, shockingly enough, was the Jarl of Windhelm: Ulfric Stormcloak himself. Svena dropped her potatoes in shock and Ula's mouth fell open in surprise: it was a rare sight to see a Jarl leave his castle, and even more so to see one wielding a weapon.

Then the soldiers darted out from some nearby buildings and cut down three of the people wearing blue.

Several of the villagers screamed in horror when blood began to paint the earth red, and Svena let out a gasp of horror; when the Jarl turned and opened his mouth, a wall of deafening blue light exploded out of his throat and knocked the people in red clean off their feet. The sight had Svena letting out screech of terror: she instantly grabbed Ula's arm and dragged the stricken mute girl away from the men who were now headed in their direction.

Before she could even begin to realize what was happening, Ula was running for her life.

All around her, men in blue and red were hacking each other to pieces and painting the earth with fountains of crimson.

There were clashing people all around her: ahead of her, behind her, on either side… all around was madness. The imperials were in the lunatic rage of combat and hungry for murder: they didn't discriminate against the ones in blue or the villagers, for they were thirsty for the blood that was drenching the sand. Not _their _own, of course, never their own… because no fool ever goes to war believing he'll be the one to die. Ula jolted and her mouth fell open in a silent scream when a sword-wielding imperial ran Svena's Grandmother, a sweet old woman named Rita, through the stomach and gutted her.

"NO! Gran!" Svena screeched, instantly trying to bolt towards the woman; Kai was suddenly beside them, gripping their arms and preventing them from moving... not that Ula had any such intent. She had been frozen, eyes large, mouth open with horror as she tried to let out a scream that would never come. "NO! Kai! Let me go! Let me go! That's my Gran! He's killing my Gran! Get off of my grandmother, you horrible bastard! Get off her!"

It was too late: the woman's bonnet fell off as she flailed on the imperial's sword, grey hair tumbling down to her shoulders.

Then she went limp, and the man jerked his sword free of her body.

However, when he turned his eyes on them, something in Ula's mind sparked with fright: eyes flashing around, the girl's gaze fell upon a nearby mace resting beside a fallen corpse. Shuddering violently, the girl hastily tiptoed around the body and snatched the weapon before jumping back in front of Svena and Kai: her hands were shaking and her mouth was trembling as she held the weapon in front of her.

The sight was pathetic, and it made the imperial laugh.

"What's this?" he sneered in a thick Nordic accent, eyeing the girl when Kai started dragging the sobbing Svena away. "You'd better put the weapon down, little girl, otherwise I won't be lenient with you. Drop it and put your hands in the air, otherwise you'll be arrested for treason."

Ula hissed like a wildcat, pink eyes shining with terror.

"Go get the swords!" another villager shouted from far off. "Get the women and children to safety!"

Ula twitched when another concussion unexpectedly split the air, sending another wave of wind roaring up the street: the guard immediately went flying onto the wall and smashed his head against the stone. Ula flinched and felt her stomach churning, suddenly wanting nothing more than to vomit; however, just when the world started spinning, Kai grabbed her arm and tried pulling her away from the corpse.

"Ula!" the boy shouted, struggling to jerk her away from the chaos in front of them. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"

No...

No, that's not what she wanted to do!

She couldn't just run away!

She had to do something!

She couldn't just sit here and watch as her home was destroyed!

She couldn't leave her friends and family to die!

However, she had no skills... she couldn't fight, she didn't know how to use a sword, and she was terrified of everything going on around her. Already, more imperial soldiers were battling with the vastly outnumbered men and women wearing blue: currently, they were battling like warriors and the townsfolk of Darkwater Crossing were going down one by one. Eyes widening in horror, the girl slipped out of her best friend's grasp and ran down the street towards a few villagers who were cowering against the wall. Kai instantly tried to go after her, but sometime during the chaos, the town had caught fire and he was cut off by a falling tree.

"ULA!" Kai shouted, amber eyes widening in horror; his copper skin gleamed in the light of the flames. "Ula, come back!"

The girl ignored him and kept going until she made it to a nearby house, clutching the mace with shaking limbs. Her breath came in short little pants as she pressed herself against the wall and peered around the corner. Svena had bolted in a different direction after the first initial shock of losing her grandmother: she could hear the screams of nearby men and women locked in combat. After looking across the road, she spotted six young children hiding in an alley and crying their eyes out.

Her eyes widened when two imperial soldiers at the opposite end of that same alley came into view and spotted them.

However, the poor girl's heart nearly stopped when they hefted their swords and started advancing on the little ones, who screamed and started backing away in terror, wailing hysterically. Several of them were crying for their families, and others were simply bawling from the fear... but regardless, those men were going to kill them... she could see it in their eyes. Ignoring the shakiness in her limbs, Ula forced her throat to work and let out her very first shriek.

"RUN!" the girl wailed, voice echoing all around; she charged forward even as she issued the command, lifting the mace above her head. When the children scattered in every direction, one of the guards attempted to lunge at them from the side, but the silver-haired teen swung the bludgeon and hit the man clean in the side of his helmet, knocking him over and stunning him. When the other guard tried to attack her, she stumbled backwards, then took off with a terrified expression.

"Get back here, wench!" the Imperial snarled, hefting his sword with a fierce expression in his eyes; he then charged after her, which frightened the girl out of her wits. "Stop running you little shit! Halt! I said HALT!"

"Ula!" Svena suddenly wailed, watching with horrified eyes as she sprinted back down the street past countless battling people. "Ula, run! Get away from him!"

She didn't need anyone to tell her that much: she tore back down the street with her long hair flying, the mace awkwardly being held in her hands. She flew past several houses and trees, weaving her way between alleys, but just as she was coming around the corner that led to the town bazaar, she bore witness to a horrifying sight: several elderly people she saw on a day to day basis were trapped by a circle of Imperial guards.

And like monsters, the men in red moved in and started cutting down everyone she loved.

Inez... Benita... Thorolf... Nicoli... she watched in horror as they all fell to the ground, one by one, screaming as they were murdered by the laughing imperials.

The silver-haired girl's face paled and the mace fell out of her hands, tears already streaming down her face from the horror.

_No! _Ula silently screeched, heart flying into her throat. _Get up! Please, everyone, get up and run! It's not too late! Please!_

However, she was wrong... and the girl burst into tears when nobody moved.

The clear morning sky was slowly turning dark with thunderheads.

However, Ula didn't see the Jarl of Windhelm until it was too late: he was on the other side of the bazaar, but his mouth was open and he looked angry.

"Fus..." an ethereal voice hissed, making the girl's pink eyes widen, "ROH DAH!"

Ula's large eyes went blank and she squeaked only a split second before the wall of deafening light collided with her body, sending her flying. She was knocked clean into the air, flipping six times before she landed hard on her side and rolled clean into a building. She came to a halt on her back, long hair splayed out and thoroughly stunned in more ways than one: she could barely breathe... her entire body hurt. She tried to take a breath, but started coughing and choked since she wasn't able to.

Just as she was getting up, the guard who'd been chasing her leapt around the corner and smashed into her upper torso, tackling her back onto the ground.

Ula let out a silent yelp and started flailing around when the man grabbed her shoulders and attempted to pin her down. Svena shrieked and jumped into the fray, ducking and dodging arrows as she fought to get to the girl. Ula kicked her legs and pushed at the dirt with her feet in an attempt to buck the Imperial off of her.

Struggling to make her throat work, the mute girl let out a silent wail and strained to keep the man's sword away from her.

Ula's pink eyes jolted wide in horror when her hands slipped; the next thing she knew, the man's blade was in her shoulder and a searing agony was exploding in her muscles. It felt as though she had just gotten burned AND bit by a horse, which was something that had actually happened to her once when she'd been younger. Her pupils instantly contracted and she let out a silent scream of pain, flailing her free arm and clawing at the side of his helmet in an attempt to get his sword out of her shoulder.

Right around that moment, Svena lifted her hands and let out a shriek, palms glowing bright orange: seconds later, two jets of fire exploded out of her fingertips and engulfed the man's head; then she turned it on the approaching guard, burning him almost completely to death. Screaming, the psycho dislodged his sword from the mute girl's shoulder, and before he could recuperate, Svena leapt forward and started stomping on his head.

"STAY DOWN, DOG!" the woman screamed, black curls thoroughly disheveled and blue eyes frenzied. "STAY OFF HER! STAY OFF HER! STAY OFF HER!"

"Svena, stop fighting and run!" Kai angrily bellowed, leaping down from a nearby rooftop. "We have to get out of here!"

He was right: their home was falling apart and nothing could save it at this point.

Children who had just been playing were crying their eyes out. Women were screaming and pressing themselves against the nearest walls. Men were shouting, trying to get everyone to safety. The imperials were still cutting down the innocent as well as the strangers in blue, leaving none behind. And worst of all... there were still men, women, and children who were being subjected to this horror. Houses were on fire... memories were going up in flames.

Blood was everywhere.

They were all in the most immediate danger, but the girl's blood turned cold when she realized that nobody knew what to do.

The pale, undersized girl clutched her bleeding wound in agony, already crying her eyes out: Svena worriedly fawned over it, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and smacked the wound with both hands. Ula undulated and writhed only a split second before the woman's hands started glowing gold: light ensnared the rent flesh on her body, sewing sinew and muscle back together seamlessly. The pain immediately began to fade... but since both Kai AND Svena were too busy focusing on her, they didn't notice the Imperial man sneaking up behind them with the club in his hands.

Ula's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to warn them, to do something, but then the club came down and agony erupted on her forehead.

The last thing she remembered seeing was Kai and Svena running away from her in opposite directions... leaving her behind.

_So it begins again..._ a male voice whispered sadly, breaching her fading mind with a glowing yellow light. _The endless cycle of eternal return._

Ula's eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness, tasting blood with ringing ears.


	2. Chapter 2: Last Stop -- Helgen?

** Chapter Two: Last Stop... Helgen?  
**

Ula's ears were ringing... her head hurt terribly, and she felt trapped in an impenetrable darkness.

After a moment of enduring the impossibly loud ringing that permeated the silence in her head, her eyes fluttered a little and she swallowed hard. Her head began throbbing even more violently when she slowly started swimming back into awareness: she felt extremely nauseous. A muffled clopping noise then began to pound in her ringing ears, and as she became more aware of the omnipresent darkness, things seemed to clear up a little. She had to open her eyes... had to escape the weight inside her head before the darkness spiraled up again and swallowed her.

Ula struggled so hard that her stomach clenched: she was fighting to tumble into the light from the spinning shadows inside her mind.

With a jolt, her sparkling pink eyes flew open wide and she immediately began to cry: silent tears began streaming down her cheeks as she panted, gasping for air and trying to figure out what was going on. The crystalline drops landed on the bouncing wood right in front of her face, making her feel extremely sick and dizzy. In that moment, the muffled noises began to make sense, but the way her hearing suddenly came back felt as though cotton had been pulled out of her ears.

After blinking the haze away, she quickly became aware of everything since consciousness had finally started to descend on her.

The moment her mind cleared up and she realized she was lying on something hard and uncomfortable, however, Ula struggled to sit up… but she frowned a little in confusion when she wasn't able to move her arms. Slowly and apprehensively, the tiny girl fidgeted and struggled with both of her hands on an individual level before she simultaneously lifted her palms in front of her eyes: her wrists had been tied together by a rough-looking piece of rope.

A jolt of fright swept through her and her pointed ears stuck straight out in shock.

_Kai...? _she silently whimpered, struggling not to panic and fighting to get free of her bonds. _Svena...? Where am I?! What's going on?!_

However, she froze when the memories of what had happened to her home came roaring back: her eyes widened and her breath hitched, heart skipping a painful beat as she recalled seeing almost everyone she'd loved being murdered. Reality then began to descend on her and a horrible amount of fear swept through her heart: she had been taken prisoner by the imperials... for some reason, somehow, she'd survived and they'd tied her up.

It was also... almost unbearably cold: it hit her like a slap in the face when she finally noticed.

Shivering violently, Ula weakly pulled her legs up and curled them up inside her tattered dress in an attempt to keep her lower body warm.

She lay there for a moment, too afraid to do much more... she didn't want to see what was going on.

Perhaps they'd tossed her in a wagon with dead bodies, mistaking her as one of them?

Considering what kind of people they were, she wouldn't doubt it... but she was forced to discard that thought since her hands were tied up. If they'd thought she was dead, they wouldn't have bothered binding her. Ula shifted a little and finally sat up in order to look at what she was sitting in. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that there were three other men in the cart with her. A blonde man with a thick beard and cold blue eyes was glaring at the driver of the cart, a dark-haired man wearing dirty-looking rags was staring sullenly at the floor of the wagon, and the Jarl of Windhelm himself was staring at the sky with a gag tied over his mouth.

Ula blinked and did a double-take when she noticed that their hands were tied as well.

_What in Shor's Blood is going on?! _the mute wondered in horror, eyes widening as she took in the Jarl's dreadful state. _Why is the Jarl tied up?!_

Ula fearfully huddled down in the cart, glancing from man to man with uncertain eyes.

She was hoping... nay, _praying... _that this was nothing more than a nightmare.

She flinched when the blonde man sitting across from her turned his head and cocked a thick eyebrow before straightening up and eyeing her a bit.

His brows furrowed for several moments when she stared at him with wide, frightened eyes, but then his expression smoothed out and he relaxed a bit.

"Hey, you," the blonde man grunted in a thick Nordic accent, which made the girl's eyes widen. "Are you finally awake?"

Ula eyed him warily before giving a hesitant nod; he seemed to be waiting for her to say something, so she gestured at her throat with her foot and shook her head.

His eyes widened when she opened her mouth and mimicked talking: he seemed to have understood.

"So, you can't speak, eh?" the blonde man asked in a deep voice; when she nodded, he shook his head. "Well, in that case, my name is Ralof. They tossed you into the wagon after the ambush in the village was over: those poor souls never stood a chance... I'm guessing you got caught up in it by accident, eh?"

Ula hesitantly nodded and bit back tears: she squeezed her eyes shut when the memories of her friends being slaughtered resurfaced.

"Oh, shut up already with the self-righteous act! Damn you Stormcloaks… Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy," the dark-haired man snapped, making the mute jump; he was staring at the floor of the wagon, brown eyes burning with an expression of sullen regret. "If the Imperials hadn't been looking for _you,_ I could have gotten away with stealing that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now!"

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," Ralof calmly pointed out, shooting him a pointed look. "Let's not argue."

"How can I not?!" the man barked, glaring daggers at the blonde. "You got women and children mixed up in that fight of yours! That entire village was slaughtered because of you! I'm only a simple farmer who just wants to go home: I shouldn't be here! It's you that the Empire wants."

Shut up back there!" the man steering the wagon barked in an irritated tone of voice.

"What's wrong with him?" Lokir muttered sourly, shooting a glare at the back of the driver's odd-looking helmet; Ula, however, was severely startled when Ralof's laid-back demeanor did a total one-eighty... he literally swung around and stared at the helmeted man with a dangerous expression.

"Watch your tongue," he commanded in a thunderous voice. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King."

"Ulfric? Wait... those clothes... you're the Jarl of Windhelm?" Lokir abruptly demanded, looking at the gagged blonde man with a stunned expression. "B-b-but, you're the leader of the Rebellion! If they've captured _you…_ oh, Gods, where are these men taking us?!"

"I don't know where we're going," the man stated, looking at the sky as the wind swept through his hair, "but Sovengarde awaits."

"No!" Lokir whispered, brown eyes going blank with fright. "This can't be happening! This isn't happening! I don't want to die!"

Ula's eyes widened in horror and she immediately started shaking: she had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was... it definitely wasn't a good thing. Ula immediately leaned back against the rough wood, but only because her body gave out due to the immense wave of nausea that swept through her stomach. With amethyst eyes that had gone completely blank, the mute girl slowly brought her bound hands up to her face and valiantly tried to fight back her tears of fright.

This couldn't be happening to her.

It wasn't real.

There was no possible way.

But the ropes were cutting her skin, the wind whipping through her hair was freezing, the feeling of the wagon beneath her body was substantial, and she was completely aware of what was going on. It was impossible, but at the same time… everything was actually pointing towards it being very possible indeed: she was either having an extremely vivid dream, or everyone she'd ever loved had been slaughtered like animals and she was now on her way to die.

How in the world had such a normal day turned so nasty and strange?

"Hey, horse thief," Ralof suddenly stated in a soft voice, capturing Ula's attention and making the girl lower her hands; she looked at him with watering eyes to find that he had a sorrowful expression on his face. "What village are you from?"

"Why do you care?" Lokir retorted in a shaken voice, sounding to be on the verge of tears.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home," Ralof explained in a solemn tone, then glanced at Ula to see that she was shaking and fighting valiantly not to cry. When the first gleaming drops trickled down her chin, she lowered her head a little bit and hid them with her hair. After that, her mind went into a daze: she wasn't able to comprehend what was really happening to her, but she knew that whatever this was… it wasn't going to be pleasant.

She wanted to wake up back in her favorite cherry tree again... she wanted to be dancing with Kai and listening to Svena's stories about magic..

She wanted to be eating with her friends and family and dancing around the fire like everyone always did.

Sadly, she couldn't get what she wanted now: her home had been completely eradicated.

"Rorikstead," Lokir finally stammered, speaking after a few long moments of silence. "I'm… I'm from Rorikstead... but why is this happening? It's not fair!"

"Life rarely is," Ralof stated quietly, giving him a sympathetic look.

"General Tullius, sir!" a man suddenly called from the wagon riding ahead of their own. "The headsman is waiting!"

"Good," another man barked in an irritated tone of voice. "Let's get this over with."

Ula shrank down with a feeling of dread in her stomach, ears sticking straight out: now and again, they'd move depending on her mood... it was uncontrollable.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh," Lokir chanted, squeezing his eyes shut as his face paled. "Divines, help me! Please!"

"Look at him," Ralof sneered, gesturing at the man who had leapt off of the wagon just ahead of theirs; it had slipped between two huge castle-like walls that towered above the cobblestone road. "General Tullius is the military governor, but it looks as though the Thalmor are with him... if my eyes are working correctly. Damn elves and their peace treaty ought to rot on the side of the road... Bah... this is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here… wonder if Vilod is still making his famous mead with the Juniper berries. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

Ralof sighed, looking at the ancient buildings and small huts that lined the road with a glint in his sapphire blue eyes.

Ula finally let out a silent whine, curling up into a ball and burying her head in her knees.

"Who are they, Daddy?" a little boy who looked to be around eight years old suddenly asked, peering at the two wagons with bright green eyes from where he was sitting cross-legged on his porch. "Where are they all going? Is it another soldier parade?"

"You need to go inside, little cub," the man standing behind him stated firmly. "Go help your mother with supper."

"Why?" the little boy whined, shoulders slumping down a little bit. "I wanna watch the soldiers."

"Inside the house," the man commanded firmly, pointing at the door; an old woman wearing a weathered green dress glanced at the child and nodded in agreement when his father glared. "Go inside the house, son… now."

"Yes, Papa," the little boy sighed, sounding thoroughly unenthusiastic about leaving the 'soldier parade' Ula had become a part of; the small girl turned and looked at him, silver hair drifting a little in the wind and shining like moonlight. When the overcast sky slowly darkened even further, the albino glanced up at the clouds with frightened amethyst eyes, praying to all Gods, known and unknown, that she would somehow make it out alive.

That was all she could do at this point: even if she ran away, she had no idea where she was supposed to go now that her home was gone.

"Whoa!" a man suddenly called. "Whoa, boy... easy now."

Ula unexpectedly fell over onto Jarl Ulfric's lap when the wagon jolted: her eyes widened and she twitched, especially after looking up and realizing that he was looking at her with a cocked eyebrow. Face going bone white, the girl sat back up and scooted away from him with enormous eyes: she then glanced ahead of them, watching as the wagon she was sitting in slowed down and came to a halt in front of a stone wall.

For a moment, she happened to catch a glimpse of the people in the other cart.

Three men and two women, all of them wearing blue armor, were sitting with their heads lowered weakly.

"Why are we stopping?" Lokir asked with a fearful expression. "What's going to happen now?"

"Why do you think?" Ralof stated grimly. "End of the line."

Ula shook her head in terror, squeezing her eyes shut when her vision began to swim with black and red spots; she forced herself to take a deep breath, but she felt extremely lightheaded when she opened her eyes and looked around once again. The colors of the world seemed overly bright, and the feeling of lightheadedness only increased the more she tried to fight it off: the poor girl soon felt sick to her stomach as she stared at the green and yellow grass. What made the scene even worse were the drab grey cobblestone that lined the keep's walls and sprinkled the road that their wagons had been going down.

Even now, when she was so close to death, she could hear music in this place... it resounded deeply within her.

"Let's go," Ralof grunted, getting to his feet. "Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

The pale girl blanched and shook her head in dismay before shakily getting up and following him out of the wagon. She watched with extremely dizzy eyes as Lokir hopped off the wagon; he immediately began to protest when a man wearing crimson armor shoved him forward.

"No, wait!" Lokir cried, gesturing at Ula and himself with frantic movements; the girl instantly bit her lip, praying they'd listen. "We're not rebels!"

"Face your death with courage, thief," Ralof commanded sternly, blonde hair being blown in his face by the wind; Ula's knees buckled when she tried to take a step forward and she smacked face-first into the wagon. She felt blood running from her nose and let out a dismayed huff of air before shakily sliding upright and scooting off the edge. When she slipped off the wagon, however, she jumped: Ralof and the Jarl were both insanely huge, even for Nords.

They actually bordered on being over seven feet tall, maybe even a little more than that.

"You've got to tell them!" Lokir pleaded, looking at the man with terrified eyes. "We weren't with you! This is a mistake!"

"Step towards the block when we call your name!" a red-clad woman standing in front of the Jarl barked. "One at a time!"

"Empire loves their damn lists," Ralof sighed, shaking his head in scornful dismay; Ula jerkily glanced around, hoping that there would be a way for her to slip away unnoticed… or at the very least, uninjured. However, every area seemed to be blocked off by someone with a sword, and she had a feeling that there were a lot of guards in a place like this. However, despite that fact, she was still extremely tempted to run away.

"Ulfric Stormcloak," a dark-haired man wearing red suddenly called, unfurling a scroll and reading it aloud, "Jarl of Windhelm."

The blonde man standing right in front of Ula lifted his head high and stepped forward, walking away and out of sight with proud movements.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric," Ralof quietly called, thick accent becoming thicker as he glanced at the red-clad man.

"Ralof of Riverwood," the Imperial called, voice hitching a little as he glanced at the blonde standing beside the mute girl; the Nord glanced down at the tiny white-haired girl and gave her a reassuring smile before he followed Ulfric out of sight. Ula immediately shivered, wondering why everything seemed so much colder after seeing that smile. She was trying to ignore the blood dripping out of her nose, but it got hard when a gust of wind swept through her thigh-length hair.

_Why is this happening?_ Ula wondered weakly, looking up at the sky with tears in her eyes. _Why?! Where are Kai and Svena?! _

"Lokir of Rorikstead," the Imperial called, making the only man still standing in front of her jump in sheer terror; he immediately stepped forward, brown eyes wide and mouth trembling violently; Ula's stomach flopped when three of the Imperial soldiers put a hand on their swords, but her heart started beating a mile a minute. She felt like a rabbit caught in a cage when she saw their faces as they did so: the Imperials were smiling… as if they were hoping they'd be able to use them.

"No, I'm not a rebel!" Lokir cried, brown eyes filling with tears as he looked at the Imperials. "You can't do this!"

When the soldiers merely sneered, the dark-haired man let out an angry sob and broke into a sprint. Ula's stomach dropped through the ground and she clenched the front of her dress even though her hands were still bound: she watched him run with bated breath, hoping he'd get away.

"Halt!" the Imperial woman screamed. "HALT!"

"You're not going to kill me!" Lokir wailed, sprinting past the house where the little boy had retreated to. "I won't let you!"

"Archers!" the woman barked, looking at three men who were standing in front of the tower beside the house.

The mute girl stiffened in horror when they lifted the weapons and sighted down the shafts.

Her shoulders instantly tensed and her eyes widened in horror... but then, when one of the guards released an arrow, her eyes went blank and her throat locked up with an unbearable pressure. In the blink of an eye, Lokir was on the ground with his scream already cut off; the albino stared at him with shaking hands, waiting for him to get up or move around… but he remained lying down where he had fallen.

The girl's knees began to feel rubbery when she realized he was dead.

"Anyone else feel like running?" the Imperial woman asked in a cocky tone, turning around with a satisfied expression; the man glanced at Ula in particular as the woman asked this question, but his mouth split into a confused frown when the tiny girl nearly passed out from shaking her head so much.

She didn't want to die with an arrow in her back… hell, she didn't want to die at all!

"Wait," the man holding the scroll commanded; he immediately began looking at Ula's features, gazing at her cloud-white hair, peering at her pointed ears, and examining her young features with furrowed brows. "You there, step forward."

Trying not to vomit, Ula timidly moved forward, keeping her pink eyes trained on the ground.

Her legs were shaking so badly that she felt as though only a miracle was keeping her from collapsing: she was that terrified.

"Who… are you?" the Imperial man asked, looking at her with intense eyes. "Speak your name, race, and village."

Ula froze in horror, pink eyes going blank: she floundered for something to do, for a gesture that didn't involve using her hands. The world swam with spots and she felt lightheaded when his eyes began to narrow: he was becoming impatient. Thinking quickly, the girl slowly sat down on her backside and rolled on her side before putting her flexibility to good use. This was pretty much the only real talent she had, since the girl could twist herself into a pretzel and even sit on her own head.

The man and several guards grasped their swords when she lifted her leg and bent it to tap the side of her throat.

Then she mimicked speaking and shook her head before carefully standing back up.

The man's eyes widened in stunned surprise, but he immediately smoothed his expression over.

"So... are you saying you can't speak?" the man asked, furrowing his brows when she nodded; he frowned when he glanced down at the scroll, but then a little spark of hope lit up his expression. He immediately turned to the woman standing at his side. "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

_Please say you'll let me go, _Ula silently prayed, lowering her head and squeezing her eyes shut. _Please... let me go._

"Forget the list," the woman snorted, eyeing the mute girl's form up and down with something close to distaste. "I don't like elves... she goes to the block."

"By your orders, Captain," the man stated softly, looking at the terror-stricken albino with a solemn countenance. "I'm sorry, child... follow the Captain."

When she remained frozen, he nodded to a guard standing against the wall; Ula started crying when she was suddenly shoved forward from behind... but then, when she felt something sharp poking into her back, she got the hint and shakily began following the Imperial woman. The mute walked along the cobblestone path with her shoulders hunched, but when she saw the group of people she had been captured with standing tall and proud, she swallowed hard and attempted to do the same.

She just barely managed to lift her head up.

The view of the mountains immediately took her breath away: these were even more majestic than the ones in Darkwater Crossing. They were so tall that the clouds started obscuring them only halfway up, and their snow-capped peaks were so radiant and majestic that she almost forgot about her fear.

Almost.

When she lowered her head and stopped walking, Ula found herself standing between a burly redhead and a dark-haired man.

"Ulfric Stormcloak!" a man wearing bronze armor rapped out in a ponderous tone; Ula stared at the balding man, watching as he approached the Jarl of Windhelm who had been bound and gagged. "Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne."

"Well said, General Tullius," a guard standing near the wall grunted.

Ula silently watched as the blonde man glared at them, letting out a muffled grunt as his face turned red with anger.

"You started this war!" General Tullius barked, making Ula jump a second time: his voice had an annoying way of striking her frazzled nerves. "You plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace!"

The moment those words left his lips, a distant and ominous screech echoed down from the mountains.

Ula's expression went blank and her muscles went limp, amethyst eyes growing wide as an unfamiliar desire to Sing swept through her soul... she wanted to resonate with the music of life that was always echoing around her... she wanted to become one with the song of existence. Eyes vacant of emotion, the pale girl actually took three unconscious steps forward before one of the Stormcloaks gently pushed her back using his long leg.

When he shook his head warningly, the girl didn't notice... she was hearing music unlike any other, a song that seemed to be speaking from her very soul.

Almost immediately, a beautiful blue light spread out from her pupils and obscured her pink irises... and a strange mark on her throat was suddenly illuminated.

For several moments, her eyes and the mark shone with an odd luminescence... but then the blue glow in Ula's eyes winked out with a twinkle and she shook her head as though she were waking up from a daze. She blinked a few times and glanced around in confusion when she noticed that everyone was staring at the tallest nearby mountain; the small girl shivered violently and bit her lip when she realized that they looked confused.

"What was that?" the imperial with the scroll finally asked, looking a little uneasy. "Some kind of beast?"

"It's nothing," the balding man dismissively grunted. "Carry on."

"Yes, General Tullius!" the woman who'd ordered Lokir's death eagerly exclaimed; she then turned to an unhappy-looking young woman wearing a set of brown robes and a golden hood draped over her head. "Give them their last rites."

The woman sighed and stepped forward, lifting her hands and tilting her head back towards the sky.

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius," the woman cried out in a somewhat gentle voice, "blessings of the eight divines upon you, for you are all the—"

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with," the burly brown-haired Nord standing beside Ula barked, instantly stepping forward of his own accord and glaring at the woman with a fire in his eyes. "There are _nine_ divines… you've shamed us."

"As you wish," the woman murmured, lowering her eyes and slowly turning around with her head lowered. "I'm sorry."

Ula felt as though she were going to hyperventilate when the man holding the axe smiled eagerly from beneath his executioner's mask.

She watched with wide eyes as the Imperial woman, the captain, sneered at the prisoner's back.

"Come on!" the man bellowed, spitting on the ground as the woman sauntered up behind him and put a hand on his back. "I haven't got all morning!"

Ula felt her heart flop when the burly Nord was roughly pushed to his knees, head being forced onto the blood-stained cement block. Her eyes were drawn to the wooden box right in front of the groove that had been carved into it. Her stomach instantly lurched and she nearly threw up when she thought about her head falling in there.

"My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials," the burly blue-clad man stated defiantly, smirking up at the executioner with cold green eyes; the masked villain lifted the axe high above his head and sneered down at him in triumph. "Will you ever be able to say the same thing?"

Ula's eyes widened when the axe came down: she immediately squeezed them as tight as she could, jerking her face away and turning it towards the ground. However, she heard a sickening squelching noise and immediately felt her stomach turn upside down. Doubling over and heaving up the little that was in her stomach, the girl started sobbing hysterically and nearly collapsed due to her shaking knees. She didn't care if the people in Blue were criminals or warriors: this was wrong.

"You imperial bastards!" a Stormcloak woman screeched. "How could you?!"

"Justice!" a man jeered from somewhere nearby, cheering on the inhumane slaughter that had just occurred in front of him.

"Death to the Stormcloaks!" a woman eagerly cried; her voice was full of venom and sickening glee.

"As fearless in death as he was in life," Ralof stated woefully, lowering his head and closing his eyes in pain. "Goodbye, my friend."

Ula glanced at him, but she nearly lost her breakfast when she saw the man's decapitated trunk lying beside the cement block out of the corner of her eyes; it was spewing a thick stream of blood onto the ground, and something white was sticking out of the spot where his neck was supposed to be.

The teenager immediately retched and doubled over again, coughing hysterically with stinging eyes.

Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep from passing out.

"Next," the imperial woman called, looking at Ula with wicked glee in her eyes. "The elf child."

Ula froze like a statue, muscles locking up as her world spun; the second the words left the Imperial's lips, the echoing roar from before drifted through the air… but it seemed to be coming from the other direction this time; everyone aside from the tiny mute looked up in the direction of the ominous noise. The sound of that roar once again stirred something within her, making the girl want to shriek back for some reason. She felt as though it were calling for her, specifically...

"There it is again," the Imperial with the scroll muttered, scanning the sky. "Did you hear that?"

"I _said_ next prisoner!" the woman called, looking a little irritated. "Don't interrupt me, Hadvar."

"To the block, prisoner," Hadvar sighed, putting his scroll in a pouch at his side. "Nice and easy."

Ula's amethyst eyes had gone blank at the sound of the creature's call.

She almost robotically moved forward with no expression on her face, slowly stepping towards the block.

A soft gust of wind swept through her thigh-length hair, rippling her tresses and making them gleam like moonlight.

When she came to, Hadvar was looking her straight in the eyes.

She gazed back at him with an expression that plainly asked, '_How could you?_'

He immediately averted his eyes when tears trickled down her cheeks.

Ula felt weak when the Imperial woman ran a seemingly gentle hand through her long hair only to grab a fistful of it and force her down on her knees: because her pathetic height didn't allow her to do very much, the albino didn't have a lot of muscle on her body. Hence why it was fairly easy for the captain to force her head onto the block. Ula nearly vomited when she saw that the burly man who had been decapitated was still opening and closing his mouth in a twitchy manner.

She instantly turned her head and stared up at the bearded executioner, terror jolting through her when she saw his smile.

A breeze swept her long hair across her face, obscuring the sight of his sneer.

However, just as the man gripped the axe and the girl was about to close her eyes, something black and enormous flew out from above one of the mountains and let out a roar that made her heart fly into the clouds. Involuntarily, her mouth opened wide and she let out an answering gasp: the mark once again reappeared on her throat and her eyes literally exploded with bright blue light. She immediately gazed at the winged creature, and after a moment, she realized it was a dragon.

A _giant_ dragon... and the beast was currently flying towards the tower that Ula was facing.

"What in Oblivion is that?!" General Tullius squalled.

"Sentries, what do you see?!" the captain barked.

"It's coming down from the clouds!" a Nord voice bellowed.

The executioner hastily lifted his axe and was about to cut her head off when the scaly creature landed on the outpost.

The man went flying forward with the gust of air that followed its landing.

Ula's breath caught and her eyes went wide when the dragon's glowing yellow irises fixed on her glowing blue ones: their gazes locked for a chilling moment in time.

"DRAGON!" a woman wailed in shock. "IT'S A DRAGON!"

The sound of swords being drawn filled Ula's ears, but the dragon's unblinking eyes held her attention.

She felt as though looking away would be a dangerous thing to do. The mute girl didn't even blink when the executioner staggered around and threateningly hefted his axe, but her heart nearly stopped when the creature drew its head back. She flinched when it let out a scratchy noise and released a wall of translucent white energy from its mouth, which was soon accompanied by a clap of deafening thunder that blew several people off their feet.

The girl's eyes went wide with terror when she saw the sky beginning to swirl with clouds... clouds that soon formed a cyclone of destruction. Not even a second later, a powerful screeching wind tossed her silver hair around and she was violently blown off the cement block. She landed on her side and rolled nearly three times before coming to a halt on her stomach: she could faintly make out the sound of thunderous crashes, and she felt the earth trembling beneath her body, but when she struggled to get up... she couldn't do it.

"Guards!" General Tullius cried, catching Ula's attention. "Get the townspeople to safety!"

"Divines!" a man cried. "How's it moving so damn f—AAAAGH!"

Ula flinched and smacked her head flat against the ground when a wave of scorching heat seared directly above her, obviously engulfing someone who hadn't had good reflexes. After the heat faded, she struggled to roll over, but something had fallen on top of her: she was pinned against the ground. No matter how much she struggled, the girl couldn't get to her feet, and whatever was on her back was too heavy to move without using her arms.

Both of which, conveniently enough, just _happened_ to be tied up and pinned beneath her body.

_Help me!_ Ula silently wailed, kicking her legs in an attempt to catch someone's attention. _Help me __help me __help me __help me __help me_—

All of a sudden, the weight on her back was gone and someone was jerking her upright by the scruff of her dress.

"Come on, Girl!" Ralof shouted, jerking her around by the shoulder; he dragged her out of the way as an object that looked horridly like a meteor smashed into the ground only a few feet away. "We have to run! The Gods won't give us another chance! Run to the keep over there! Come on!"

When the man started gesturing towards the area where Lokir had died, Ula glanced at all of the collapsing buildings in horror as flaming balls rained down on them.

She didn't waste any time arguing after that.

Several of the meteors raining down from the sky looked as though they were being blown around by the clouds: moving meteors meant that a ball of fire could slam down anywhere at any time. Tossing her snarled silver hair out of her eyes, the mute girl bent low and sprinted so fast that her tresses flew behind her body in a gleaming silver wave. She heard heavy footsteps behind her and assumed that Ralof was following her, but she didn't take the chance of looking over her shoulder to find out.

She wanted to get out of danger and find out what was happening.

She wanted to go home.

No... that wasn't possible: she had almost forgotten that her home was gone.

She had no home to return to.

The girl bit back tears as she bounced up the steps and darted into the keep.

Once she was safe, Ula immediately doubled over and fought to catch her breath.

After she'd caught her wind, she stood up to see Ralof slamming the door shut behind Jarl Ulfric, who had originally been gagged.

Ula twitched and looked up in fright when the building abruptly shook on its foundations: she shivered violently.

Two men were lying on the ground amidst splatters of blood, and a third was tending the smaller of the two.

_"_Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing?!" Ralof cried, looking at the formerly gagged man. "Could the legends be true?!"

"Legends don't burn down buildings!" Ulfric Stormcloak stated in a regal voice, looking up with a calm flick of his eyes when the ceiling shuddered and a roaring screech echoed from outside. "We need to move! Now!"

"Where are we going to move?!" one of the soldiers bellowed before pointing at the door. "I only see one exit, and it's currently being blocked off by falling fireballs! Aside from that, there's only one set of stairs leading to the roof of an insanely high tower! How in Shor's Blood are we going to get out of this place without breaking our legs or getting our bodies blown to bits?! Where can we go?!"

"Up through the tower!" Ralof barked, shooting him a glare before stepping forward and running up the stairs. "Let's go!"

Ula swallowed and hesitantly darted after him.

Ralof stopped when an Imperial soldier halted him with a hand: the stairway was blocked.

"Just give me another moment," he stammered fearfully. "I'll have this cleared out in no time at a—AAAAGH!"

Ula jerked backwards when the wall abruptly exploded inwards and crushed him. When the black dragon's head was thrust into the gap, however, the blonde man whirled around and pinned the girl against the wall using his superior strength and heavier body-weight. Her large eyes shimmered when the dragon breathed in, but then it let out a gout of fire with a horrific screeching noise, ensuring that the crushed man was dead.

Then it flew away.

Once Ralof was sure the monster was gone, he gripped her arm again and dragged her up the stairs towards the hole. He examined the area around them before glancing down at the burning house below; then he pulled Ula forward and gestured towards a building with a burning straw roof that rested nearly fifteen feet below them. Her stomach flipped since it was such a long way down.

"See that Inn on the other side?" Ralof demanded, gesturing at the building. "Jump through the roof and keep going!"

Ula jolted and did an extreme double take, staring at him in total disbelief: the look she was giving him clearly said, '_you're insane._'

"Oi, it's either that… or getting burned to death after having your skull crushed like a berry," Ralof pointed out, cocking an eyebrow and purposely glancing at the rocks that somehow seemed to be oozing their own red fluid; Ula immediately shuddered and her face twisted up in horrified revulsion, but she looked at the man with uncertainty in her eyes. "Go, Lass! We'll follow you when we can, but you need to get out of here!"

For a long moment, the girl merely stared at him... but then she whimpered, rolled her shoulders, took a step back, and eyed the distance.

Then, with a hysterical huffing sob, the girl sprinted forward and leapt out of the hole in the stone wall, long hair billowing out behind her like a cloud of silver. Her wide eyes were full of terror as she descended, but then she landed hard and ended up falling on her side. Frantically ignoring the pain, the albino crawled to her feet and fearfully staggered through the burning building, ducking around the pieces of flaming straw and wood that were raining down around her.

After making it to the end of the building, she came to a hole in the floor and looked down at it.

From what she could see, there was no other way out, so she sat down and scooted towards the edge in the hopes of not injuring herself. However, before she could attempt to get down, the entire building shook as the dragon passed by and she lost her balance a second time: letting out a breathless gasp, Ula fell through the floor and landed on her back, instantly knocking the wind out of herself; she slowly rolled over with a silent groan, trying to breathe right.

"Hamming, get over here!" a familiar voice shouted. "Hamming, you need to get over here, now!"

The pale girl shakily hefted herself upright and peered outside to see Hadvar and another man beckoning to the little green-eyed boy from earlier.

Just as the crying child stumbled to his feet with shaking limbs, the black dragon landed only a few yards away from him. The girl's eyes widened in horror when the kid ran behind the building. Just as the dragon took a deep breath, however, she spotted him… the child's father was lying on the ground right in front of the black dragon. However, there was no time to react: the girl jumped backwards and landed painfully on her tailbone behind a pile of debris.

She couldn't cover up the sound of the man's scream, and she somehow knew it would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Once the monster took off again, she made her way out into the open.

"Still alive, prisoner?" Hadvar demanded, looking her up and down with observant brown eyes. "Well, keep close to me if you want to stay that way. Gunnar, take care of your nephew! I have to find General Tullius and join the defense!"

"Gods guide you, Hadvar," the old man wept, looking over his nephew's head at the man. "Be careful."

Turning her back on the old man and little boy, Ula fled after the Imperial soldier: when they passed by the corpse that had once been a little boy's dad, she swallowed hard and tried to avoid looking as she passed... but her eyes watered, even when Hadvar led her into a crumbling alley between a burning house and a stone wall.

The man skidded to a halt in front of a small drop before leaping down.

"Stay close to the wall!" he shouted, looking up and cowering down just as the dragon landed on it. Ula's eyes widened and she dove in after him, pressing her back against the stone just as the monster took a deep breath. However, she thought she heard some sort of weird language exploding from its mouth when it breathed more fire… not just an unintelligible roar. However, she squeezed her eyes shut as more screams erupted from behind the corner of the alleyway.

She nearly vomited all over again when the smell of burnt flesh hit her nose.

"General Tullius, over here!" a man called, making Hadvar's head snap up in surprise. "Into the keep! We're heading into the keep!"

"Quickly, follow me!" he shouted at Ula, turning to look at her with commanding eyes. The albino wordlessly did as she was told, sprinting past burning corpses as unintelligible shouts, screams, cries, and terrified moans of pain filled the air right along with the sound of explosions. The girl's eyes were wide and she was shaking with the effects of an extreme adrenaline rush of some sort. "It's just you and me, prisoner! Stay close!"

When she did as he asked, she nearly bashed her face on his armor since he unexpectedly jerked to a halt.

Then he whirled and grabbed her arm, jerking her forward with a crushing grip; startled, Ula began struggling against him, eyes widening in horror.

Had she fallen right into a trap? Was this man going to hurt her or worse?!

"Let go of the elf child, Hadvar!" a familiar voice thundered, making her amethyst eyes widen in hope. "Hand her over to me and I'll let you go!"

"Ralof, you damned traitor!" the imperial screamed, face turning bright red. "Get out of my way! This girl obviously isn't a normal elf! If she's an elf at all!"

"Unhand her! That girl's home was destroyed by your men, Hadvar," the blonde man roared, thick neck tensing in anger. "You're not stopping me! Let her go!"

"Fine! If you want her so much, _take_ her! I don't even want her with me!" Hadvar snarled, gripping Ula's arm and violently throwing the girl at the Nord; the mute stumbled and let out a startled gasp when her face smacked into Ralof's chest. "I hope that dragon takes you both to Sovengarde, you bastard!"

"Come on!" Ralof bellowed, jerking the albino off her feet and carrying her in his arms like he would a child. "We need to get into the keep!"

Ula shook her head in protest, flailing her arms and legs in hysteria as she was carried into the dark.

Her struggles went ignored... and soon after, the doors closed behind them, encasing the terrified girl in darkness.


	3. Chapter 3: Spider Panic!

**Chapter Three: Spider Panic!  
**

"Stop struggling!" Ralof growled, brows furrowing when Ula frantically started beating her fists against his shoulders. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

Ula would have none of it: she struggled with everything she had in her.

She did NOT like being manhandled!

Once the doors had slammed behind them, the burly Nord ignored her weak little punches since they really didn't hurt all that much; Ula's flailing, on the other hand, was making it difficult to get a good hold on her. After a moment of thought, he all but dropped her to the ground and smirked when she cracked her head against the stone. He watched as she rolled over on her side and curled into a ball, holding her aching head... but when she sat up and gave him a look of tearful indignation, he snorted in irritated amusement.

"You wanted me to put you down," the man growled, cocking an eyebrow at her stunned expression. "However, that doesn't mean you were entitled to me doing it gently."

Before she could even do so much as scowl, he spotted something across the room and gasped, running right past her.

She watched with wary pink eyes as he bolted over to someone lying partially hidden under a small square table; there was a candle and some empty cups on it, as well as a book. Ralof slowly knelt down and checked for a pulse, but his rugged face became solemn after a moment.

"We'll meet again in Sovengarde, brother," he muttered, eyes closing in pain. "You were a strong soul."

Ula's face went slack with horror when she approached the man lying on the ground; she shakily gestured at him in confusion, catching Ralof's attention.

"Yes, he's dead," the man muttered, looking up at her pale face and watching how her pupils dilated from the shock. "In fact, right now it looks as though we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon, no doubt... just like the children's stories and the legends: the harbingers of the End Times."

A screeching roar echoed from outside the keep, seeming to be agreeing with his obvious statement.

However, there was one thing that still kept Ula from falling apart at the seams: she didn't believe any of it was real. It was impossible: it seemed like nothing about the world made sense anymore, so it had to be a nightmare, or a hallucination, or something—anything—other than reality.

Unfortunately enough for her… this experience still felt way too real to be a simple dream.

"We'd better get out of here," Ralof stated warily, eyeing the ceiling when trails of dust fell from the ancient cobblestones. "Come here, child: let me see if I can get your bindings off. Damn imperials must have tied the knot too tightly if it made your wrists bleed."

Ula swallowed before hesitantly stepping forward and holding her arms out with a trembling mouth; she squeezed her eyes shut he pulled out his sword. The man snorted, rolling his eyes at her terrified expression before he gently began sawing at the ropes. After a few moments of doing this, relief surged into the girl's hands and the binds fell to the ground; Ula instantly sighed in relief and rubbed her stinging wrists, eying the bleeding circlets that had ensnared her skin. They'd bound her so tightly that her fingers had turned blue... she slowly rubbed her hands, wincing at the pins and needles prickling through her body.

"You might as well take Bastion's gear," Ralof stated, making her head fly up in alarm. "He won't need it anymore."

Ula's eyes widened in horror and she blinked before looking down at the dead man's closed eyes.

Heart lurching, she instantly threw her hands up and made a 'no-way!' gesture before mimicking punching someone in the nose and frantically shaking her head.

When he stared at her in confusion, not making the connection with what she wanted him to know, the girl smacked her forehead and sighed.

Trying again, she gestured at the sword in his hands before pointing at herself and shaking her head, giving a little shrug at the end.

"Shor's Blood... are you trying to say," Ralof asked in a low voice, making her shiver violently, "that you don't know how to fight? That you don't even know how to use a sword?"

Ula swallowed and hesitantly closed her eyes before giving a reluctant nod.

"Well... this is a problem," the man stated, sounding extremely tired. "I don't have time to babysit you, so stay out of the way until I can find us a way out of here."

With that, he headed over to the gate and started tinkering with the handle.

Ula's face fell since there was no way she could be angry over that insult: she hated admitting it to herself, but his words really stung... simply because he was right. Then again, so what if she couldn't fight? She could still use healing magicka, even if it _was_ nowhere near as strong as Svena's... and she could also conjure fire from her palms! Although... Svena was way better at it than her. In fact, her missing friend had _always_ been better at using Magicka: no matter what her elders said about the so-called mysterious elemental powers she possessed.

Ula didn't believe she could control the weather like they'd said... quite the contrary, it was usually the weather that controlled _her._

On rainy days, she felt sad... the music resonating in the world around her became sorrowful: it always, _always_ made her feel the same.

Lightning storms made the resounding world clash in angry harmony... in those moments, it was almost as though Spirits of Song were doing battle with one another.

She'd always felt short-tempered on those days.

And who really cared if flowers started blooming wherever she decided to go? Who cared if they grew directly in the path of her footsteps? She didn't understand it at all herself, and she hadn't understood why it'd made everyone panic, especially since it only made everything around her look that much more beautiful. She didn't possess any type of powerful magicka... although, she really didn't understand why flowers and other green things bloomed around her.

That was pretty much the only thing that didn't have a rational explanation as far as she could tell.

Ula pouted when Ralof wiped his brow and continued tinkering.

She could conjure a bit of fire and heal him a little if she needed to: she wasn't _completely_ helpless, at least.

"Ugh, the lock on this gate was made much too well for me to pick with my limited knowledge," Ralof finally muttered, catching the girl's attention; Ula blinked like an owl when he threw his busted lock pick away and worriedly glanced at the other gate. "Let's see about that one over there."

The girl looked down at her hands and focused, trying to conjure flames the way Svena had taught her to: her brow furrowed and she swallowed.

Even trying her hardest, nothing happened.

_Come on,_ she silently pleaded, biting her lip and straining her soul with all her might. _Come on... burn for me... please, ignite..._

Ula was interrupted when Ralof let out an unexpected snarl of dismay.

"Damn!" the man barked, shaking his head in disgust. "There no way to open it from our side! We're trapped in here!"

Ula's heart instantly skipped a beat.

However, before the blonde man could say more, the sound of a rusty gate being opened made the two of them freeze. Ralof instantly peered through the bars: when two men and the Imperial captain rushed into the corridor at the opposite end, the blonde man instantly pulled Ula off to the side and covered her mouth.

"It's the imperials," he hissed, giving her a warning glance. "Stay right here! if they attack, get under the table! Don't worry… I was tutored how to battle by Ulfric Stormcloak himself."

"Come on, men, keep moving!" the woman in the hall shouted angrily, making the man tense. "We have to get out of here!"

A few seconds later, the sound of a lock clicking assaulted Ula's ears and Ralof dragged her as far away from the gate as possible. Then he let her go, shoved her down on the ground, and drew his sword before taking on a battle stance. The moment the Captain opened the gate and ran through, she spotted them and drew her weapon, snarling like a savage animal rather than a woman; Ralof instantly cracked his neck, but otherwise remained unaffected by her open hostility.

"Stormcloak Bastards!" one of the men behind her shouted, drawing his sword and lunging at the blonde man. "Die!"

Ralof easily parried the blow and socked the guy in the stomach so hard that he was lifted off his feet and practically impaled by the Nord's fist; then he threw up the contents in his stomach and went limp as he passed out, still in the air with his feet dangling on the ground. Ralof tossed his unconscious body aside and deflected a blow from the other man before cracking him in the back of the neck with his elbow: he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The captain narrowed her eyes at the blonde man, eying him up and down.

"You didn't kill my men," she stated simply, still expressing open hostility even though it was now marred with skepticism. "Why?"

"Needless bloodshed is pointless right now, when so many casualties are happening to innocent civilians," Ralof retorted in a thundering voice, glaring down at the woman with narrowed eyes. "Sheathe your blade and no more need be said."

"And in the process, I get charged with treason for letting a Stormcloak _dog_ escape," the woman sneered, bouncing from foot to foot with a smirk on her face. "I'd rather die in battle than lose my honor and pride, thank you very much. Give me all you got."

"With pleasure, Imperial wench," Ralof growled, stepping forward with his blade held up; however, a ball of fire unexpectedly exploded past his head and knocked the the woman off her feet. When she landed on her back and her sword clattered on the ground, Ula bolted forward with brightly glowing hands and leapt on top of her chest before pinning her arms down using all of her strength. "What in blazes do you think you're you doing?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Ula didn't even twitch at his question: the girl was glaring down into the woman's startled eyes with enraged tears streaming down her cheeks. _This_ woman was the same one who'd sentenced her to death even though she hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't broken any laws, she hadn't committed a single crime, she hadn't done anything... and yet, after losing everything she held dear in only one day, this woman had gathered enough audacity to sentence Ula to death.

And that... well, _that_ had triggered rage as well as an adrenaline rush.

Eyes shining with infuriated tears, the white-haired girl spat on her face with an expression of hatred.

"YUCK! You nasty wench! I'll gut you like a fish, little girl!" the woman screeched, fighting against Ula's smoldering hands when the girl's touch began to burn. "OWWW! It burns! Augh, Shor's Blood, you'll never escape from the empire once I get out of here! I'll have your head put on a stake as a warning! I'll kill you if these burns scar up! I swear it!'

Ula would have none of it: taking a deep breath, the pale girl drew her fist back and clumsily punched the woman in the nose with all of her strength.

Then she did it again... and again... and again, beating the woman's face in until she knew her nose was broken and she'd fallen unconscious.

Chest heaving with rage, Ula shakily slid off of her chest and looked down at her bloodied hands with a tight expression; the woman's head lolled, sending blood running down her cheek.

"That was impressive," Ralof stated bluntly, eying her shaking shoulders with a raised eyebrow. "You have more courage than I thought..."

Ula merely turned her back on him, tentatively struggling to heal her aching wrists: she kept her eyes focused on the task with a sullen, pouting expression. He rolled his eyes and began searching the unconscious Imperials for the key; then he howled in triumph and started twirling the entire ring on his finger.

"Looks like we're not as trapped as I thought," the Nord muttered, shaking his head in amusement before trotting forward and sticking the key in the lock; once it was open, the man sighed in relief and glanced at her. "All right, let's get out of here before that damned dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads. Keep your guard up and don't fall behind!"

Ula gave him a shaky nod and hiked up her dress skirt, following him at such a fast pace that her hair was blown out of her face. The girl ran through the tower and fled down a set of spiraling stairs after Ralof, bare feet barely making a sound against the cobblestone: the only thing she could hear was her panting and her own frantic heartbeat. Then they came to an open gateway ensnared by wooden beams. The man ran through it and turned left, hurrying down another large corridor.

The moment Ula slipped through it, however, the entire foundation of the building rocked and she was thrown to her knees.

She looked up just in time to see the corridor ahead of them being buried under huge piles of debris that blocked off the entire hall; a deafening roar thundered in her ears, forcing the mute into clamping her hands over them. Once the dust had settled and the dragon was gone again, Ula slowly crawled to her feet and looked at the barred corridor with dismayed eyes.

Ralof got up as well and trotted over to the collapsed stone, eying it up and down with a cocked eyebrow.

"Damn," Ralof whistled, eying the impassable area with amazed eyes. "That dragon doesn't give up easy."

Ula nodded in agreement and fearfully looked up at the stone ceiling before looking around for an alternate escape route.

However, the sound of a loud voice emanating from a nearby door made her jump nearly a foot in the air: she immediately covered her mouth with both hands.

"We need to get out of here!" the speaker barked loudly; Ralof instantly drew his sword yet. "Grab everything you can!"

Ula watched with unhappy eyes as the man stealthily crept into the room before following him.

"I just need to gather some more potions!" another, almost British-sounding voice protested. "Please, give me more time, master!"

"A Pox on the Empire!" Ralof boomed, charging forward and raising his sword high. "Yaaaaagh!"

"Stormcloaks!" the armored man exclaimed, hastily drawing his sword; however, before he could react, Ralof was on top of him.

Ula flinched and covered her eyes, shakily peering at the battle between her fingers.

However, her pupils dilated when Ralof deflected two attacks and slit the man's throat in a spray of blood.

Then he turned on the younger soldier; his brown eyes went wide and he started fumbling for the dagger at his belt, even though he was obviously terrified. Ula was about to step forward to reason with Ralof, but just as she made to do so... the blonde man whipped his blade forward and cut his throat as well. The Imperial boy choked and collapsed, clutching his neck only a split second before the blood began spewing from his artery. Ula's heart flew up into her throat and she covered her mouth, eyes unbelievably large with horror.

Then her blood froze in its veins, because the Nord turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you coming or not?" he inquired in a monotone, making the girl shiver violently with fright. "We'd best be off."

_How many people did he have to kill not to feel anything for the men he just slaughtered? _Ula wondered in horror, following him a little more reluctantly. _Divines... help me...  
_

"A storeroom?" Ralof suddenly muttered, looking around at the barrels before shrugging and walking around the corner. "See if you can find any potions or salves: we'll likely need them later on, especially if you're a mage. I've heard that using magicka is just as energy-taxing as fighting with a weapon, so I think we would be better off safe than sorry."

Giving him a tiny scowl, the tiny girl reluctantly made her way over to the sacks resting underneath the moldy-looking shelves. In one she found nothing but rotten tomatoes, in the other she found flour, and in the third she found three fresh green apples: her stomach instantly rumbled. Swallowing guiltily, the girl picked up two of the apples and stuffed the third in her dress pocket; when she glanced at Ralof to see what he was doing, she realized that he was searching for useful items as well.

The girl's long ears drooped in dismay and she finally walked over to the nearby desk, lifting a few of the bottles on it and removing the stoppers.

After that, she took a few hesitant sniffs: she'd always had an excellent sense of smell, so she could easily detect what kind of herbs had been put inside these concoctions.

Ula blinked in surprise after smelling each of them, realizing that they were nearly identical to the potions that Svena had sometimes whisked together in her kitchen.

She instantly put the stoppers back in and slipped the tiny glass potion flasks inside her other pocket.

"Find anything useful?" Ralof inquired, looking up from the barrel he was rummaging around in; the girl nodded, then tossed him one of the apples.

_I might as well nibble on my apple,_ Ula dejectedly realized, closing her eyes for a moment; then she bit into it and shivered since it was extremely tart. _Ugh... Shor's blood, it's so sour!_

"Thank you," the man grunted, taking a big bite of the fruit she'd given him before he glanced at her bulging pockets. "Are you done? If so, let's get moving again."

The girl nodded around her mouthful of apple, watching with worried eyes as he opened the door.

Ralof then rolled his eyes and headed down another hall.

Ula followed him at an easy pace down a set of stone steps, but when the two of them turned to head down a very steep set of stairs, the man halted.

"Troll's blood!" Ralof hissed, eyebrows shooting up in shock. "It's a torture room!"

Ula's feet slid to a halt and her eyes went wide with fright. "

"Stop it!" a woman cried angrily, letting out a whine as an electrical noise filled the air. "No! Mercy! I cannot best you! AAAAH! NO! Divines, HELP ME!"

"Hear that?" Ralof asked in a low voice, hefting his blade and stealthily making way down the stairs. "Sounds like an attack!"

"Leave her alone!" another man roared. "Get off of her!"

The sound of metal on metal ensued, but Ula nearly choked when a raw-throated scream split the air only a few moments later. Throwing the apple away, she sprinted past Ralof and skidded around the corner… only to crash right into a man wearing red armor; he instantly whirled around and grabbed her by the throat.

"What do we have here?" he asked in a twisted tone, eying her up and down in surprise; the girl's eyes became rounder than dinner plates when he unexpectedly drew his thin finger along her lips and touched her pointed ear. "Well, well, well... are you a little mouse who somehow lost her way? If that's the case, let me make you feel welcome."

Ula's eyes widened even further and she tried to pull away from him, but the man clutched her throat and squeezed so tightly that she saw spots.

She was then lifted clean off the ground by his grip alone: the mute girl flailed around and clutched at his wrists, trying to lift herself up so she could breathe.

Her pale face slowly started turning purple as he leered at her body.

"Yes…" he finally snickered, reaching for the front of her dress, "you will do nicely."

The albino blanched when he realized what he was intending to do to her: with a strangled wheeze, she slapped her hands against his cheeks and held them there despite his crushing grip on her throat, struggling to make fire explode from her palms. No fire shot out, but her hands did start glowing with extremely hot power: the man immediately began to scream since her touch was burning his face, but then he let her go and dropped his sword to rub his burning eyes and cheeks. Ula landed hard on her side and started coughing hysterically, clutching her throat and wheezing as she tried to get air back into her lungs.

The moment he grabbed his weapon and tried to stab her, Ralof came running around the corner and slaughtered the man.

Then he turned around and glanced at the two Stormcloaks lying dead on the floor.

"We were too late," the Nord bluntly spat, clenching his sword with shaking fists; then he glanced at the panting albino girl. "Are you alright?"

Ula simply nodded and rubbed her aching throat, unable to get the feeling of his hands off her skin.

She was literally feeling the urge to scrub herself off in a warm bath.

"Well, we'd best get going then... oi, wait a moment! Look: I think there's something in that cage," Ralof muttered, jogging over to a nearby prison and jiggling the handle. "Ah, damn… it's locked. Just give me a moment... I want to see if I can jiggle this thing open."

The Nord man then took two picks out of his pocket and gently slid them into the lock; Ula kept her eyes trained on his fingers and watched how he moved them around, feeling confused. However, much to her surprise, there was suddenly a loud click and Ralof was pulling the cage door open.

Then he stepped aside and made a sarcastic flourish.

"Ladies first?" he asked, quirking his brow in a mocking fashion. "I presume you won't mind the corpse in here."

Ula scowled before turning her head away and refusing to look at him. The Nord headed inside the cage, kneeling down and examining the coins strewn over the floor of it with a calculating gaze. After a few moments, he grabbed up everything he could see and made his way out, slipping the money into a satchel at his belt.

"I'll split it evenly when we get out of here," the blonde man muttered; then he unexpectedly dropped a book into Ula's lap. "Unfortunately, I'm not the reading type. I don't know my letters, so you can have that if you want it. Now, let's get going. We've delayed far too long already."

Ula finally stood up, clutching the book he'd given her close to her chest, and went after him at an easy jog once again; then they came to a tunnel that apparently led to several exits. Even though she had a bad feeling, she allowed Ralof to drag her down the incline; the girl was surprised when he slipped and had to jump the rest of the way, but he at least had the decency to let go of her before doing so.

The two of them continued on into the cave, keeping quiet and listening to the sound of flowing water become louder.

However, an unexpected set of voices soon forced the unlikely duo into stopping.

"The orders are to wait until General Tullius arrives," a man angrily thundered. "Have faith in the general!"

"I'm not waiting to be killed by a dragon!" another man shouted in response. "We need to fall back!"

"Just give the general some time," the first voice retorted.

"For Skyrim!" Ralof suddenly bellowed, drawing his sword and charging around the bend in the cave. "Run to the exit, lass! I'll be there shortly!"

Ula didn't need to be told twice: ducking her head and lowering her shoulders, the girl high-tailed it past the ensuing fight and sprinted across a cobblestone bridge. She darted past several burning torches and a puddle that had pooled on the stone before skidding a little and running across another stone bridge. That's when it happened: in the blink of an eye, the very second before she'd made it across, three men wearing red armor ran up the stairs that lay right next to the safety of the landing.

Ula gasped and attempted to skid to a halt, but her feet slipped on the wet stone and she landed on her butt.

An arrow sliced through the air right where she had been standing, making her face pale.

"Get her!" one of them men wielding a sword bellowed, and the man in front of him notched another arrow. "Don't let her escape!"

After taking a deep breath and preparing herself for more pain, the girl realized she was still holding the book that Ralof had given her.

However, after glancing down at the cover, she froze since this was nearly identical to Svena's most treasured possession. It looked like the book that had taught her friend true magic. Thinking quickly, Ula opened the book and prepared to scan the pages for something useful, maybe a spell to defend herself… but instead of seeing words, what she got instead were images that sped right into her brain and meshed with her knowledge on the world.

She blinked several times as an odd violet light flashed behind her eyes... then the image faded and the first guard was standing above her with his sword drawn. Ula's eyes widened in horrified protest and she thrust her hands out in defense; two forked lightning bolts unexpectedly exploded from her palms and struck the man in the chest with a deafening clap of thunder. The sound of it echoed through the mossy cavern and shook its very foundations.

The albino let out a stunned gasp before looking at her hands: she had absolutely no idea how she'd just done what she'd done. This time, her Magicka had been almost uncontrollable: it had literally just erupted from her body without warning. Back when Svena had been teaching her, it had taken months before the girl had actually managed to heal herself or produce a real flame. Her mishap had been so easy that it was actually rather frightening.

"Run girl!" Ralof barked, disarming the man he was fighting with before running him through; his face showed no emotion whatsoever when he whirled around and decapitated another assailant."They cannot and _will_ not show you mercy! Wait for me at the end of the tunnel! I'll catch up!"

Ula got to her feet and turned to give him a nod, but she didn't see one of the two remaining imperials lunging at her.

"Die, wench!" the red-clad man snarled, drawing his sword arm back. "You won't get past me!"

The girl stiffened when she heard the blade being swung at her from behind and immediately ducked under the blow.

She'd gotten lucky: the man's sword caught the ends of her hair instead of her head.

When he tried to attack again, Ula thrust her hands out again and more lightning lanced out of her fingertips with deafening cracks. The Imperial was blown clean off his feet and went flying straight into his comrade, both of them going down like empty sacks. After that, Ula fled up the crumbling stairs and tore into the next stone tunnel, pressing herself into a small alcove while she waited for Ralof to come join her.

The Nord passed by her nearly six minutes later.

Sliding out of her hiding place, the girl jogged up and tapped his arm.

However, she all but squeaked when his bloodied sword was suddenly being held against her throat: he'd whirled so fast she'd barely seen it.

"Shor's Blood, don't scare me like that!" he scolded, face relaxing almost immediately. "I nearly slit your throat! I thought you were an imperial!"

After that, the two of them took off together.

They continued on through many twists and turns until they came to a drawbridge: Ula and Ralof had just made it to the end of it when another distant roar shook the tunnels. However, both of them lost their balance when the cobblestone floor bucked beneath their feet, causing the tremors to grow in intensity; the girl glanced over her shoulder with a start when the unexpected sound of a cave-in erupted behind them.

Then the bridge was gone, exploding in a spray of wood and stone that soon vanished completely, leaving behind only clouds of thick dust and debris.

"No going back that way, now," Ralof noted, eying the demolished bridge. "We'd better push on, though... the rest of them will have to find another way out."

_ff there is another way,_ Ula sourly muttered, flicking her hair out of her eyes before she trotted down another small set of stairs and landed on dark mud; the girl's mouth instantly curled in disgust and she shuddered since her feet sank down a bit. Noticing her extreme discomfort, Ralof gave her a wolfish grin.

"What's wrong, lass? A little mud and water never hurt anybody," the burly Nord chuckled, clomping through the mud before heading clean over to the stream and walking through it, boots and all. "In fact, it refreshes the soul and makes a person feel more alive."

_He's crazy..._ the albino thought to herself, hiking her skirts and tiptoeing across the squishy earth; with dainty movements, the pale girl slipped over to the stream, shuddering before she wiggled her toes to get the mud off. _Ew! Ew! Ew!_ _Nothing is more revolting than the sensation of mud between one's toes! _

Ula then followed the Nord downstream, being careful not to slip or cut her feet on the rocks beneath the water: they came to a halt in front of another cave-in.

Ralof looked rather perplexed, but after a moment he glanced at the natural cavern shooting off to the right with an expression of immense distaste.

He was obviously reluctant to head down the open cavern.

"The quick exit is blocked," he muttered, glancing down at Ula with narrowed eyes. "Let's try heading down this path."

Ula just so happened to notice a bunch of bones resting in a neat little pile next to a lantern, along with a pouch of coins.

She instantly gave him a look that said '_you've gotta be kidding me_' and folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't give me that look: my blade will take care of any problems," Ralof muttered, filching the pouch from the shelf full of bones and clasping it onto his belt before hefting his weapon. "We have to keep moving: there's another way out through there."

Ula merely sighed before following Ralof down the natural cavern, making her way over the rocks and crags.

"I don't think this day is ever going to end," Ralof sighed, staring mournfully up at the ceiling when they came to an opening in the cavern. "Why now of all times?"

With that, he drew his sword again.

Ula looked up to see a bunch of roots surrounding her, but she immediately sensed something odd about the plant life.

They weren't resounding like they should have been... all plants had a distinct sort of voice: these voices resounded in a manner similar to insect life.

Wait...

Ula jumped so high in the air when one of the plants actually moved and turned to face them that her legs buckled and she fell after she landed. The girl let out a gasping wheeze that definitely would have been a scream had she been able to use her voice. Then she made the sound again, and again, regardless of whether or not anybody could hear it. She felt lightheaded when Ralof slowly crept forward, and not long after that, Ula began to cry.

You see, the mute girl had an ingrained dread of creepy-crawlies—she _was_ a girl, after all—but amongst all of those fears, the biggest was her fear of spiders. Up until the age of eight, she had actually adored little arachnids because their Life Songs were incredibly distinct and lovely for such little bugs… but then, during the night on a trip to go shopping in Windhelm with Svena, she was bitten by a poisonous arachnid that had laid eggs in her skin.

She hadn't ever gotten over the trauma of waking up one morning to a mountain of eight-legged bugs exploding from a bloody hole in her arm.

However, the spiders in front of her weren't the size of a grape or a penny... _these_ spiders were enormous: the smallest of them was the size of a small wagon.

So, like any rational girl with a deep-set fear of spiders, she was crying her eyes out.

"Disgusting!" Ralof muttered, cleaving his way through the insects before jumping back and doing it all over again. "Let's just get this over with!"

Ula merely curled into a ball and buried her head in her knees, shaking all over.

After an eternity, Ralof was suddenly beside her, panting heavily.

"They're dead," He grunted, gripping her arm and pulling the shaken girl to her feet. "Hate those damn things. Too many eyes, you know?"

Ula merely swallowed hard and rubbed her puffy eyes, refusing to acknowledge his words.

Five minutes later, they came to another river and hesitantly crossed the natural stone bridge leading to the other side.

The two of them were just about to pass an old, abandoned wagon when Ralof froze and crouched down.

Ula did the same out of instinct.

"Hold up," the blonde hissed, hefting his sword as he eyed a sleeping lump of fur lying across another stone river. "There's a bear just ahead! See her?!"

A very distant roar and the dull thundering of a collapsing tunnel behind them was the only answer he received: Ula couldn't even nod.

She was so dazed by everything that her brain felt numb, and the adrenaline was literally the only thing keeping her body going.

"I'd rather not tangle with her right now," Ralof finally muttered, looking at the pale teenager sitting beside him. "Let's try to sneak by. Take it nice and slow, and watch where you step. Or, if you're feeling lucky, you can take the bow I found earlier. Might take her by surprise."

That jerked the girl out of her stupor: she immediately hissed in protest, frantically shaking her head back and forth.

"Then let's go," Ralof whispered, rolling his eyes. "You go first; I'll watch your back."

The next few minutes were spent sneaking past the sleeping bear without slipping and falling on the unsteady ground. Ula's heart was thudding in her ears, and her palms shook as she tried to sneak past the animal with stealthy movements. Her heart leapt into her mouth when the beast suddenly lifted its head and looked around: the albino froze like a statue and squeezed her eyes shut, already feeling lightheaded with a silent scream.

When the creature lay back down and snuffled a bit, she all but scurried towards the safety of the sheltering rocks.

"That was close," Ralof stated in a low tone, wiping his forehead; however, when the two of them walked down the edge of the cavern, his next words nearly made Ula cry again... this time from sheer joy. "Hey! That looks like the way out! I knew we'd make it! Come on, let's get out of this twisted labyrinth!"

Ula watched as he slid into the blinding light and vanished, then hastily hurried after him.

What was waiting beyond... she had absolutely no idea whatsoever.

For now, though, she was alive... wonderfully, gloriously _alive._

And no matter what it took, Ula was going to make sure it stayed that way.


	4. Chapter 4: The Trek to Riverwood

**Chapter Four: The Trek to Riverwood**

When Ula's eyes had adjusted to the light, her mouth dropped open in shock and her breath hitched. For a long moment, she simply gaped at the gorgeous landscape around her, from the snow-encrusted pines to the glistening mountains that stretched endlessly into the distant sky. This was a very different view from the barren and rocky landscape that Darkwater Crossing had provided... in fact, these mountains looked even more entrancing than Darkwater lake. She slowly lifted her hands and squeezed the front of her dress, knees wobbling only a moment before her eyes rippled with blue light.

For a moment, the strange symbol on her throat appeared out of nowhere and shone brightly for a moment... then it faded again.

Ralof glanced up with a start when the storm clouds resting high in the sky slowly started to part, bathing Skyrim in bright shafts of sunlight. Then the Nord turned and was about to gesture for her to follow him when the sound of thunderous wing-flaps made both of them freeze. Ula's dazed expression jolted back into a fearful one and she made as if to take off running, but Ralof gripped her arm and prevented her from moving.

"Wait!" the man hissed, looking up before gripping the albino's arms and dragging her towards the cover of a low rock; the two of them huddled down, but a deafening roar passing directly above them nearly made the poor girl bite her tongue off by accident. She let out a chuffling, soundless sob when the black dragon flew overhead and pressed her back against Ralof's chest; however, soon after, the beast disappeared behind a few tall pine trees and kept flying.

Another roar signified that it was moving farther away from them.

Still, that didn't stop her heart from pounding.

"There he goes," Ralof finally muttered, shaking his head and letting go of Ula's arms; the girl nearly toppled over. "Looks like he's gone for good this time. There's no way we'll know if anyone else made it out alive, but this place is going to be swarming with imperials soon enough. The two of us had better clear out of here. My sister, Gerdur, runs the mill in Riverwood up ahead, just up the road. I'm sure she'll help us, but for now, it's probably best if we split up."

Ula twitched, looking positively horrified by the suggestion: eyes already filling with tears, she staggered forward and gripped his sleeve between her pointer finger and her thumb. The touch was so light that he probably didn't even feel it, but he was looking straight at her... Ula knew she probably looked terrified. She didn't want him to leave her behind... she was begging him with her eyes, and she was fully aware that he understood her silent plea by the expression on his face.

And yet, even though she was pleading more than she'd ever done in her entire life, he jerked his arm free and straightened his armor, ignoring how she flinched.

"Good luck, _Elf…"_ he stated a little sourly, giving her ears a somewhat distasteful expression. "I hate to admit it, but I wouldn't have made it out without your help."

With that, he cracked his thick neck and took off down the road at a trot.

Ula stiffened and held her hand out to him as though he would turn around and clasp it, knees shaking violently.

He didn't turn around... nor did he even look back.

He was growing smaller already.

Crying hysterically, Ula stumbled after him in a staggering run, trying to keep her legs from giving out: her hand was still outstretched, but no matter how fast she made herself go, he was still faster and she couldn't catch up. Then she tripped over a root and landed hard on her stomach... and when she looked up again, Ralof was still walking away from her. Ula's face screwed up as a surge of abandonment swept through her and she stretched her hand out again.

However, the man soon disappeared around a long bend on the mountainous trail.

Her outstretched hand dropped.

When tears began trickling down her face, she buried her head in her arms and let herself break down, unable to keep from crying hysterically.

She wept for so long that she couldn't even bother counting how much time had past when she'd finally stopped. For the first time in her life, she had a horrid feeling that she'd just been used by someone… and the very fact that Ralof had only been thinking of himself when she had been thinking about _both_ of them made the poor girl feel like she'd been kicked in the stomach. Sitting up on the rocky path, Ula struggled to wipe her streaming eyes, but for some reason the tears wouldn't stop even though her sobbing had.

It was almost as though the tension and fear she'd just endured were leaving through her eyes.

However, that's when two familiar voices made her heart nearly stop.

"Shor's Blood!" a woman gasped from somewhere nearby. "Look! There's smoke rising above the mountain top! Isn't that where Helgen is?!"

"Y-yes, it is, according to the map!" a male voice stammered, sounding completely shell-shocked. "Gods... whatever happened must have been big! The smoke trail's huge!"

"Oh, Divines! We have to hurry!" the woman cried, panting heavily; they seemed to be coming closer, although they were still far off. "I really hope that old woman didn't send us into some sort of trap... I swear, something seems fishy about going into a cave and ending up in a village stronghold!"

"All major outposts need a way to evacuate in case of an emergency," the man soothed. "All we have to do is sneak in and see what's going on!"

"But it's probably all on fire!" the woman snapped, sounding extremely fretful. "For all we know, Ula probably escaped on her own! Let's go look for her!"

The mute girl's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat when Kai and Svena suddenly walked around the bend that Ralof had vanished on.

Her heart instantly soared into the clouds and she summoned the strength she needed to crawl back to her feet. Her entire body swayed when she was standing upright, but then, regardless of her fatigue, she stumbled towards them with her arms outstretched. Her pink eyes were shining with tears of fright and relief because her friends were alive.

They were safe... and more than that, they'd cared enough to come looking for her.

Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks like miniature waterfalls when they finally saw her coming.

However, instead of looking happy, they both froze with identical looks of horror... and then they charged at her, screaming her name at the same time.

When the world spun and she tripped again, she fell clean into Svena's arms; the curly-haired girl sank down to her knees with enormous blue eyes, embracing the albino and staring at Kai in mortification when she started crying all over again. The young man merely stood with his mouth hanging open: he had been stunned to the core by how awful Ula had looked. She had been severely injured at some point... or rather, it looked as though someone had beaten her savagely.

Her white hair was tangled and matted with soot, dried blood, and dirt... her milky skin was covered in scratches, bruises, and small burns... blood from her nose had completely coated her mouth and chin at some point, where it had dried and started flaking off... and, for the first time he'd ever seen, the girl was crying hysterically with eyes that looked completely shattered. She had obviously been through hell and back: the thought sent a wave of rage searing through Kai's chest.

He clenched his fists, amber eyes smoldering like glowing embers.

"Don't worry, Ula," Svena murmured soothingly, running a large and very motherly hand through the girl's tangled hair. "You're safe now... nobody will hurt you now that we've found you again, I promise. Please, hush... there's no need for tears, okay?"

In that moment, Ula felt an extreme surge of dislike for the name she'd been given: she knew her real name... she had known it all along.

However, she hadn't been able to speak it, nor was she allowed to: someone had once told her not to ever speak her name... that it would make scary things happen.

Sadly, after the day she'd just had, the poor girl felt like nothing would ever seem scarier than what she'd seen.

Struggling to work her throat, the girl pushed away from Svena and choked violently, struggling to speak her name: her two friends watched in confusion as she beat her chest with shaking hands, staring at them with eyes that burned with an extreme amount of intensity. Then her eyes started glowing, and when the mark appeared for the third time, Svena jolted and stared at her neck in shock. Finally, the mute took a deep breath... opened her mouth...

And spoke her first sentence ever.

"I am not Ula...**"** she whispered, eyes unexpectedly flashing with a brilliant blue light. "I am_ **Sora.**_"

Kai and Svena jumped when the last word was accompanied by a soft rumble of thunder, one that seemed to come straight from her mouth. The two of them glanced at each other with wide eyes when Ula's true name echoed into the distance: it couldn't even be called an echo, really, since it was much too different. Instead of fading away like a normal echo, it was almost as though the sound of her name itself had melded into the air around them. Which would also explain why it had abruptly come from everywhere, all at once.

Plus, her voice had traveled much, much farther than it should have: the odd thunder had carried her name, soft as she'd spoken it, clean across the mountains.

Swallowing hard, Ula let out a sigh of relief: the glowing light in her eyes and the mark on her throat slowly faded away after the rumbling sensation faded.

"Kai... did you _feel_ that?" Svena whispered, clutching her chest with shaken eyes and taking a deep breath. "What in Shor's blood... _was_ that?"

"I don't know! My whole body... no, even the _air..._ it was trembling!" Kai stammered weakly, hugging himself with tense shoulders. "Ula... how did you _do_ that?!"

When they glanced at her, the girl's eyes showed nothing but confusion: her friends instantly paused.

The girl cocked her head and gave them a questioning expression, obviously not getting what they meant: she apparently hadn't noticed the weird side effect that had come with speaking her real name. Svena's eyes immediately narrowed and she frowned: Ula didn't even seem to be aware that her voice seemed to do strange things to the world around them during the exceedingly rare moments when she managed to speak a random word.

This time, however, she had spoken her own name... and it had done something _very_ odd.

Svena was extremely perceptive when it came to magicka, and she suddenly had a weird feeling that Ula's inability to speak might not have been exactly natural.

"We should get out of here," the dark-haired beauty finally sighed, glancing at Kai. "We need to find a place to rest!"

"Why don't we head back to Riverwood and give Lady Hilde her map back?" the boy inquired, holding the parchment up. "We don't need it after all since we found Ula."

"Sounds like a good idea," Svena murmured, regarding Ula's large, tear-stained eyes with something close to affection. "So... your real name is Sora, huh?"

Ula's eyes flickered a bit before she hesitantly nodded.

"Sora... compared to Ula, your true name is way more beautiful," Kai mumbled iin embarrassment, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and glancing away from her with flushed cheeks; the older of the girls instantly grinned in a knowing manner and rolled her eyes. "Sora... Sora... why does that sound so familiar?"

"Eh?" Svena asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise before she frowned as well. "You're right... it does sound familiar... Sora... it sounds so familiar."

"Sora... Sora..." Kai muttered, closing his eyes and sounding it out; then he gasped in shock. "Sora! That's it! Remember when Chief Rain sat you and Ula... er, Sora... down a few years ago?! You were complaining about having to learn the Old Language!"

"You're right!" Svena exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. "I remember that! He wanted to teach us the language of the Dragons! No way! Sora means..."

"Song," Kai whispered, and both of them stared at the dumbfounded albino with huge eyes. "You were given a name from the Old Language, Ula! That's bad!"

The girl's ears twitched and she cocked her head, brows furrowing in total confusion: she was totally lost by that point.

How could the name she was born with be a bad thing? Even if it was from some old, forgotten language, that didn't mean anything... right?

"I'll explain more when we get out of here," Svena sighed, helping her up and supporting her weight when her legs buckled. "Whoa! Careful!"

"So, we heading back to Riverwood?" Kai inquired, cracking his back before rolling his muscular shoulders. "It's not too far."

"Well, yes," Svena murmured, looking at the towering trees before glancing at the position of the sun, "I'd say we're heading to Riverwood."

"It's an old village resting about five miles down this path," Kai explained, stepping over a fallen log before lifting the girl off the ground and setting her down on the other side of it; then he did the same thing for Svena. "Although, it's mostly visited for its lumber trade… from what we saw after we arrived, there aren't very many shops there, and the blacksmith is an average metalworker."

"A blacksmith is... someone like Celine, right?" Svena naively inquired, looking at the clouds above as they headed downhill through the trees. "You know, a person who makes jewelry in a forge?"

"Well, I guess you could say that," Kai muttered pensively, thinking about it. "Our Blacksmith was into crafting beautiful things like jewelry, but most blacksmiths are hired for things like swords, armor, mirrors, and other paraphernalia. Celine and her father were... one of a kind."

"There were lots of people who weren't found among the bodies," Svena whispered in a hushed tone. "She and her father weren't found, either! They could have made it out for all we know! I'm sure we'll find them someday, but right now we have to focus on ourselves or we'll never make it!"

"You're right," Kai muttered, looking at Ula's shattered expression before wincing and turning away.

Svena was looking around with observant eyes, seeming to be just as stunned by the differences in scenery compared to Darkwater Crossing.

"Wow!" the girl suddenly gasped, looking at the pine trees below them when size and depth started making sense. "Wow, how big are trees around here?!"

"I've heard that some get to be as tall as mountains near Whiterun," the burly teenager chuckled, clasping his hands behind his head; however, when a rustling in the bushes caught his attention, he gripped the girls' arms and forced them to stand behind him. Ula's eyes widened when Kai picked up a wooden stick and held it in front of his body with flashing amber eyes, looking at the source of the rustling. Everyone tensed when the rustling grew louder, shaking a little from fear.

Then a rabbit hopped out of the bush.

Kai's expression went blank and he blinked when it lifted its head, eyeing the three of them; then it lazily hopped away.

"What's the matter, Kai?" Svena teased, giggling when he turned around with a somewhat baffled expression. "Don't tell me you were scared of a little bunny!"

"Oh, shut up!" the boy snapped, ears immediately turning red in embarrassment. "You were scared, too!"

"Was not!" the girl laughed, nudging Ula's shoulder before looking down at the girl. "Wasn't he scared, U... la?"

Both of them stared at their friend when they noticed that she was looking up at a high ridge that towered above the bush the bunny had hopped out of.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked, making her blink before looking around. "You okay?"

She nodded and gave him a shrug before pointing at her ear and shaking her head, signaling that she'd thought she'd heard something but had been wrong.

"Well, still, we'd better keep moving," Svena murmured, slowly picking up a wooden branch of her own. "I don't want to run into any imperials."

"I agree," Kai muttered, sighing a little bit when Ula tripped over a root and fell flat on her face with a gasp; Svena frowned deeply when she noticed that Ula's legs were still shaking, but when Kai saw that the girl was bleeding from a deep cut on her foot, he bent down and lifted the pale girl into his arms; he completely ignored the resulting flail of protest. The girl struggled a little before clamping down onto his neck with shaking arms. "Er, sorry for startling you, but you're bleeding."

"It's a smart decision," Svena acknowledged, nodding when the albino glanced at her. "I can't use any more healing magicka until I've rested."

"She was tending to the survivors from the village after the attack," Kai explained, marveling at how Ula could still smell good even after everything. "I'm amazed she can even stand upright, let alone hike into the mountains AND keep pace with me. She healed so many people that she fainted twice. Still, I don't want your foot to get infected, so just relax and let me do the walking for now."

Ula let out a whining huff of air before giving a nod and looking at the ground.

The three friends became silent after that: none of them really knew what to say and speaking seemed sort of awkward. However, when Svena looked ahead and saw three odd-looking pillars that had been overgrown with roots, she smiled and gasped in delight.

"Those are the ancient Guardian Stones!" the girl squealed, gesturing at the pillars before whirling around with shining cerulean eyes. "Kai, one of those will tell me how much talent I've got and also confirm if I'm good enough to become a mage!"

"Guardian stones?" Kai asked, frowning in confusion; similarly, Ula blinked and frowned in perplexity, "What are Guardian Stones?"

"Three of the ancient standing stones that dot Skyrim's landscape!" the tan-skinned beauty explained, flapping a dismissive hand. "Come, let's see which stone calls out to us the most! The stone of the warrior, the stone of the thief, or the stone of the mage. If we've got a certain talent, one of them will resound inside of us."

"Uh... I hope the thief one doesn't! For any of us!" Kai squawked, looking extremely dismayed as they drew closer to Svena. "The warrior, though... I might like that."

He stopped walking when Ula stiffened in his arms like a wooden board: similarly, Svena froze mid-wave and stared at her in shock when she lifted a trembling hand and pointed at the stone in the center of the group; Svena's eyes went wide and she blinked in surprise before glancing over her shoulder. Her face immediately paled since they were actually more than twenty feet away from the Guardian Stones: normally, they only affected someone with promise at a measly range of two feet.

That stone was the same one that Svena had wanted to touch.

"The mage stone," the dark-haired girl whispered, blinking in amazement before glancing at Ula in curiosity. "I wonder... I probably shouldn't feel curious about whether or not you have talent with magicka, especially since I myself taught you how to use a bit of it. Kai, bring her over here so she can touch it: based on what I've read, if Ula's got talent, the gods will grant her a blessing and the mage stone will glow."

"If you say so," the teenager snorted, shivering violently when he carried the mute girl over to the stone. Looking at the two of them with hesitant eyes, the albino shakily stretched out her hand... but the moment her fingers made contact with the stone, an icy sensation swept throughout her body and her eyes exploded with so much blue light that two beams seemed to be shooting out of her skull. The mark on her neck flared brightly and began to extend, weaving all across her upper torso and even across her face: it wound around her in glowing spirals and curvacious patterns, illuminating her pale skin from the inside out.

Then the hole that had been carved in the center of the stone began to glow with a hissing noise.

"Shor's blood," Kai whispered, staring at Ula's body when she somehow became lighter all of a sudden; his eyes widened when the girl's silver hair weightlessly billowed up towards the sky and slowly drifted around with the flow of power emanating from her body. However, when a set of ethereal wings unexpectedly exploded from her back, Svena leapt back and Kai almost dropped her to the ground by accident. "S-S-SHOR'S BLOOD! WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?!"

"I-Illusion magicka?!" Svena stammered, staring at the translucent appendages when they flapped and went right through Kai's body. "They don't _look_ real!"

Ula dizzily went limp.

"EEEEHH?!" Kai squeaked, eyes widening in fright when he carefully lowered his arms and stepped back; Ula's hand remained connected to the Mage Stone, but her body hovered as though she were submerged clean underwater. Her head lolled as she floated in the air, making Svena gasp; she was shocked her jaw was still connected to her head when she finally got a hold of her senses. "S-S-S-S-Svena?! H-how is she doing that?!"

"Kai!" the young woman rapped out. "Make her to let go of the stone! Hurry!"

"I-I-I..." the boy stammered, pupils dilating as he stared at the girl. "I-I-I... b-but...!"

"Oh, fine, you big baby! I'll do it!" Svena scolded, hurrying forward and grabbing the albino in a firm hold. With large eyes, she gripped the hand holding the stone and pulled the pale girl away from it; almost immediately, the godly aura surrounding the albino's body vanished and the ghostly wings sticking out of her back completely faded away. Ula gasped in relief, glowing marks fading and eyes returning to their former pink with a ripple. "Ula... are you all right?!"

The girl's pointed ears twitched a bit when she blinked.

Then, after a moment of thinking about it, she hesitantly nodded.

"Well, that's a relief!" Kai squeaked, staring at her in shock. "You scared the life right out of me!"

"You're a very powerful Magicka user, Ula…" Svena stated in a grim tone, eyes extremely serious. "You're going to need some serious training."

At her look of startled surprise, the woman shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Ula," the girl murmured, thinking back and finally letting out a sigh. "I only decided to teach you magicka because I thought you wouldn't be able to use it. In fact, according to Uncle Rain... you _shouldn't_ have been able to. I... kind of lied to you at first, and said it only comes with practice... but Magicka is only awakened in a human being once he or she opens a spell book. There are dormant powers inside those books that sleep until people with the capacity for Magicka open them. That power is then absorbed into the soul... it's something that becomes a part of you. It can't be taught. And yet... somehow, you learned from me."

The girl's pink eyes slowly widened and she twitched, not really understanding what it meant.

"You still don't get it?" Svena asked, glancing at Kai with a helpless expression. "Ula... you can barely heal yourself... and you created a fire so small that it was tinier than the burning candlelight in my kitchen. However, that doesn't mean you're the weaker mage... it means you're most likely extremely powerful. The fact that you were able to conjure fire, no matter how small it was, without absorbing a particular type of Magicka spell... well, that's a feat nobody has ever accomplished until now. I think our best option would be to pay a visit to Winterhold and get enrolled in the mages' college. The best magicka users ever to walk Skyrim give shelter to people with promise in the hopes of advancing their studies."

"College?!" Kai squeaked, feeling as though he were getting a mental overload. "Divines... you girls just might end up becoming scholars!"

"Let's get going," Svena giggled, helping her friend stand up before she eyed the setting sun; Ula tiredly rested her head against the woman's large chest, feeling the effects of her exhaustion kicking in. Then the three of them started walking down the ever-prominent road again. "At any rate, I'm glad we found Ula, and I'm grateful I'm not going through this alone… if you two hadn't been here, I wouldn't have known what to do or where to go."

"You'd probably have figured something out," Kai commented, stepping over a shaky stone and swinging his stick. "After all, you're the smartest person I kn—"

The boy's words were cut off when something huge slammed into his side, sending him rolling across the ground.

Then another huge thing leapt at Svena, who let out a shriek: Ula let out a gasp when she realized a wolf the size of a small horse had leapt on top of Kai and was savagely biting at the stick, which he was holding in front of his neck. Svena was swinging at another wolf that was attempting to circle around her, mouth trembling and eyes huge. Ula instantly looked around and bent down to pick up a large stick to help her when a third enormous wolf hurled itself it her.

The animal crashed into her with a snarl, slamming the tiny girl down on her back; she held the stick in front of her and used it to keep the animal off of her throat.

Ula let out a silent squeal, amethyst eyes huge with fright as she stared into those snapping jaws.

Her arms shook with the strain of keeping the animal away from her.

"Hang on, Ula!" Svena cried, bashing the nose of the wolf that had latched onto Kai's arm with repeated movements. "Hang on, Ula! I'm coming! We're coming! Don't let it hurt you until I get this beast off of Kai! Fight it! Fight it with everything you've got! ARGH! LET GO OF KAI, YOU NASTY BRUTE!"

With an angry shriek, she continued to bash the animal's nose; it yelped each time, but the beast didn't loosen its grip on the boy's arm.

"OOOOW!" Kai finally howled, shaking his head back and forth; he had been clenching his jaw to keep from screaming. "DIVINES! IT HURTS! GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

Ula's bare feet scrabbled at the ground as she pushed against the snarling wolf: her neck bulged with the strain of keeping the ferocious animal at bay. It took everything she had just to keep it from sinking its teeth into her throat. She squeezed her glittering eyes shut, shoulders shaking as she slowly began to force the slavering animal higher into the air; when it was far enough back, the girl let out an angry wheeze and sent her big toe clean into its manhood.

The animal yelped and leapt back with a snarling whine, allowing her just enough time to get to her feet.

Practically hyperventilating, the albino stood there with huge, streaming eyes and hefted her tree branch.

When another wolf charged at her, she swung the stick with all of her strength and hit it right in the face; eyes frantic with terror, she continued to swing blindly at any wolf that came near enough to touch, gasping and crying as she fought against them. Then, one of the wolves bit the stick and tried to drag it out of her hands; the mute nearly doubled over in her attempt to get it back, but then she pulled her body all the way back up, dug her heels into the ground, and struggled to make the creature let go using all of her strength.

However, when the wolf unexpectedly DID let go, she fell over with a startled expression.

Ula scrambled back to her feet and tried to run over to where Svena was currently bashing in the skull of the wolf that had bit Kai's arm, but before she managed to get there, one of the beasts snagged the edge of her dress and jerked her off her feet. She let out a frightened cry when it bit her hair, dragging her across the stony earth by her long tresses; Ula flailed violently and struggled to twist enough to jerk herself free, but before she could manage ir, the wolf she'd kicked off her body only a few minutes earlier leapt at her again.

She gasped and raised her arm to cover her face and neck.

Then there was a flash of silver as someone's sword unexpectedly slammed into the monster's side.

A spray of dark blood flew through the air and the stench of warm copper followed it as Ralof barreled forward, jerking his sword out of the falling animal; then he whirled around like a dancer, flawlessly slicing the throat of a wolf that had leapt at him from behind. Lopping off the head of the beast biting Kai and prying it's jaws loose, the man tossed the decapitated skull off the trail before kneeling down and examining the boy's arm.

"Not too bad," he muttered, eying him before narrowing his eyes; more wolves soon jumped out of the brush, making him grunt in annoyance; then he glanced at where Ula was sitting and scowled, since the girl was staring at him with enormous eyes. "Let's go! Get up, Elf! We've got to fight!"

"Who are you?!" Kai yelped, clutching his shoulder when Svena helped him up. "How do you know Ula?!"

"Ula?" Ralof asked, taking out another beast with disinterested eyes. "Is that her name?"

"Yes!" Svena exclaimed, yelping when a wolf hurled itself at her; she instantly bashed it on the nose and leapt away from it. "Why won't they go away?!"

Ula somehow managed to wrench herself into action when Kai grabbed his own branch: the sheer terror and adrenaline flooding through her veins had literally propelled her body into motion like a springboard. Heart pounding and feeling sick to her stomach, the tiny girl gripped the nearest stick she could find and bolted over to Svena and Kai. When her slender shoulders were pressed against their backs, the girl hefted her stick.

"It'll be okay, Ula!" Kai hissed threateningly, lifting his stick sword. "I won't let these animals touch you again!"

"Just try not to hurt yourself any further until I can heal you!" Svena scolded, throwing him a quick glare. "Seriously, Kai!"

Ula locked her jaw even as tears slid down her cheeks.

More of the dark shapes flew forward, lunging towards the three of them with snarls and furious baying.

The girl whipped her stick around and clubbed the closest wolf with it, smacking it clean in the face; the animal yelped when the wood whacked it smartly across the snout, but it was probably more from surprise than actual pain since she was fairly weak in the arms. Kai whirled around like lightning and struck out at a wolf with his boot, crushing its skull; Svena smacked at any beast that came close, purposely keeping them away from her. Ula did the same and swung at another wolf when it lunged, but just as she did so, it managed to bite her stick.

The girl was stunned when she realized that the animals were overly intelligent.

They somehow knew that she and her friends would be helpless without their weapons.

When she saw another wolf getting ready to spring at her, she was completely helpless since Ralof was busy.

Wait... no… no... no, she wasn't!

She wasn't helpless! If she could only procure it like before, she could conjure fire!

The moment she thought of it, power erupted from her body like a maelstrom: with a flare of glittering light, the girl's eyes started glowing bright blue and the silhouettes of two enormous, ghostly wings rippled out of her back and into view. Lifting her arms high above her head, she merely thought of the word _fire_ and it exploded around her hands: her friends were simultaneously trying fend off the wolves and gape at her, so she lowered her burning hands and focused, attempting set their weapons on fire.

The ends of both sticks burst into flames without warning.

"AAAH!" Kai yelped, nearly dropping his stick in surprise. "What in the name of...?!"

"Wow!" Svena laughed in triumph, whirling the flaming wood around in a circle and grinning when the wolves backed off."All right!"

Ula chanced a glance around and saw that Ralof had killed another three wolves that had foolishly attacked him; two more were circling warily, lingering just outside the reach of his sword. The blonde man merely stood still and peered at the silver-haired girl. Ula, however, began to sway back and forth when she started feeling extremely sleepy all of a sudden; before she even realized what was happening, she was falling down... down, down, down towards the distant ground.

She somehow ended up being cradled in Svena's strong arms.

When she opened her eyes and weakly lifted her head, however, the girl was staring at her with an unnerved expression.

_Svena?_ Ula wondered in confusion, dazedly reaching her leaden hand up to touch her jaw. _Why do you look so scared?_

"Svena?! Is she okay?" Kai called from somewhere far off. "She just collapsed out of nowhere!"

"She overused her power!" Svena called back, looking around at the circling wolves that were staring at her torch. "She can't even stand up on her own anymore!"

"Shite," Kai grumbled, slowly making his way to the side and setting a bush on fire. "Let's make it warmer so we get out of this situation alive!"

So saying, he moved to another and did the same thing there; then again at another. Ralof saw what the boy was doing and slid back to join in, gripping a stick and lighting it on his before setting the brush on fire. The wolves stayed beyond the flames, eyes glowing in the light: with several of the pack already dead, they evidently decided to look for something easier to hunt since they all began to melt away into the fading light, one by one.

"Not bad," Ralof grunted, giving the drowsy girl and scowling teenagers an appraising glance. "So, is the _Elf_ your friend?"

"Her name is _Ula, _and for all_ you _know, she might _not_ be an elf!_"_ Kai stated in a somewhat hostile tone. "Then again, who are _you_ and why do _you_ know her?"

"Me?" Ralof snorted, quirking an eyebrow. "That's a long story."

"We've got all the time in the world, so talk," Svena stated threateningly, hefting the incapacitated albino upright and keeping her on her feet. "How do you know Ula?".

For a moment, Ralof looked extremely hostile with their bad attitudes... but then his expression deflated and he sighed.

"The imperials were going to execute all of us," he muttered, ignoring how they twitched. "Then... a dragon attacked. The two of us helped each other escape from Helgen in the chaos, somehow. That is how we know each other: we only got out of there by working together."

Svena and Kai instantly froze before looking down at Ula, who weakly nodded a confirmation and covered her watering eyes with shaking shoulders.

"Shor's blood," Kai whispered in a small voice, knees giving out; he ungracefully landed on his butt. "A... a dragon, you say? As in, a sign that the end of the world is near?"

"I don't know what to think," Svena mumbled, looking at him with tired eyes, "but we can talk more later: we overdid it, and the fire's spreading too much."

It was indeed: several further bushes and one of the close trees were no on fire, and the heat was actually forcing them to retreat further and further away from the stones. More trees ignited in the spreading flames, and Ula realized with a dazed jolt that they had unintentionally created a wildfire.

"Let's go to Riverwood," Ralof barked urgently, gesturing towards a nearby forest path. "It'll be a good thing if we can get out of here before the fire spreads too much, but if we don't move now, we may get caught up in it! I'm glad I decided to come back... I'd likely have found you three slaughtered if I hadn't."

"We're not weaklings!" Kai protested, hefting Ula securely in his arms before he and Svena followed the Nord at top speed. "I can fight just as well as you!"

"And _I_ am a _mage!"_ Svena stated a little proudly, lifting her head high as if she were daring the blonde man to deny it. "The best in my whole village, in fact!"

Ula giggled silently, dazedly being lulled to sleep by the rocking motion of Kai's arms.

"We'd better keep moving," Ralof grunted, slowly sheathing his sword. "I don't want to run into any imperials who know what happened at Helgen."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, I have a few questions," Svena pointedly called, folding her arms. "Why were you going to be... executed?"

"Seriously, you don't know?" Ralof asked, looking shocked by her question. "Ulfric Stormcloak himself was captured by the imperials!"

"The Jarl?" Kai asked, frowning in confusion. "What's that got to do with anything? All we know about current affairs is that there's some sort of rebellion going on."

"Divines!" Ralof cursed, shaking his head and fighting to get over her immense surprise; after a moment, the man led them down the path. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about Ulfric. He's our leader: the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak, is the leader of the rebellion for Nord freedom."

"Wait... what do you mean?" Kai asked, looking stunned by the response. "So... the Jarl of Windhelm decided to go against the Empire?"

"Yes, but not for personal gain as they would have you believe," Ralof muttered distastefully. "I'm sure you've seen it yourself: the empire is taking away our freedom to believe in Talos, and with it... the rights to our own religion. Nords are being forced out of cities because the Thalmor and the Empire believe that Talos wasn't fit to be worshiped as the ninth divine… but to us, he deserves it the most because he was a man who _became_ a god."

"No wonder... it all makes sense now," Svena muttered, shaking her head before she stepped over a fallen tree branch. "Personally, I think people should be free to do whatever they want, as long as it's not hurting others and as long as it doesn't interfere with their lives in any sort of direct manner. Religion is something that politics should never mingle with: it only causes unneeded strife."

"You're very right, and that's what all true Nords believe," Ralof muttered. "To each, his own."

"Is that why the rebels are being called Stormcloaks?" Kai asked, still shocked by the news; he was now trying to find a way to change the subject. "I've heard that term being thrown around a lot lately, but I had no idea it was associated with the Jarl. I didn't even make the connection with his name."

"Surely even a small mining village could have heard about the terrible war going on in Skyrim!" the blonde man exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up; when he saw nothing but blank faces, his bearded mouth dropped open. "Shor's Blood! We Nords are tired of spending our blood for the Empire's wars, and paying for the empire's decadence with our taxes. Ulfric is our rightful High King: he's leading the fight to drive the Empire out of Skyrim once and for all! That's why our own were being executed back there! Your Elf friend was wrongfully sentenced, as well: the Empire made it clear that they simply don't care about anyone but themselves today."

"She's not an Elf!" Svena angrily squeaked, shaking her head. "And anyway, how on earth did you manage to get caught? If he's the leader of the rebellion, and you're facing an entire country all alone, what good would getting captured do?"

"I was assigned to Ulfric's guard," the man explained, mouth pulling into a grim frown. "We were just about to leave a village called Darkwater Crossing in the south of Eastmarch, but the imperials were waiting for us at the edge of the town: it was as pretty of an ambush as I've ever seen. We were outnumbered five to one, at least, but when the Imperials started slaughtering the villagers, Ulfric ordered us to stop fighting… he didn't want everyone to die for nothing, I guess. "

"What?" Svena whispered, clenching her fists in horror. "Darkwater Crossing?! B-b-but... no way!"

"We're from Darkwater Crossing," Kai stated in a cold tone, making the blonde man's head whip around; he eyed the three of them with furrowed brows. "Our village was completely destroyed during that attack: every building was burned to the ground by the Imperials, and only seven people were found still alive. Several others went missing... my friend, Svena... she lost her grandmother right in front of her."

"You..." the dark-haired girl hissed, eyes filling with enraged tears; leaping forward with a hiss, she started beating against the man's chest with both fists, letting out an angry shriek. "YOU! IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR COMING TO OUR VILLAGE! MY GRAN! MY HOME! MY FRIENDS! EVERYTHING'S ALL GONE! EVERYTHING!"

"I..." Ralof huffed, then shut his mouth, obviously taken aback since there was really nothing he could say to counter that; in a way, she was absolutely correct.

"ULA WAS NEARLY KILLED BECAUSE OF YOU STORMCLOAKS!" the woman shrieked, jerking back and glaring at him. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Need I remind you who was planning on doing the killing?" Ralof slyly countered, quirking an eyebrow when her face froze; however, her tears didn't stop, nor did her anger subside. "It was an unfortunate accident... but it is not our fault, it's the Empire's. They were the ones doing the killing, woman... not us. After they captured me and your friend, there, I thought they were taking us down to Cyrodil to parade us all in front of the Emperor."

"Why?" Kai asked, brow furrowing in confusion before he hefted Ula and started walking again. "That sounds pretty low."

"You're right, but that's simply how the empire works," Ralof sighed, shaking his head in disgust as they continued to descend down the mountain and slipped past a weathered sign; the man gave it a glance and looked at the ground with a nod when he saw the beginnings of cobblestone. "Then they stopped in Helgen, killed a few men, the dragon attacked, the two of us escaped together... and you know the rest."

"I'm sorry…" Svena muttered, rubbing her watering eyes with a shamed expression. "You're right... it's not your fault... but... my Gran... my home..."

"As long as the three of us have each other," Kai stated firmly, clapping her on the back, "we'll be home no matter where we are, okay? Stop crying, Svena. Smiles suit you way better than tears do."

"Or, you could get even by doing something about what they did to your home," Ralof thoughtfully explained. "Personally, I think you three should consider joining up with the rebellion. You've seen the true face of the Empire today, and there are many people out there being put through similar horrors."

"Eh?! I… I don't know," Svena whispered, rubbing her nose with a shiver. "I... I don't think any of us could ever voluntarily hurt anyone."

"It's not an easy decision, and I'm well aware that you'll need time to think it over," Ralof conceded, rubbing his shoulders as they walked, "but just in case you ever want to join up after we've parted ways, go to Windhelm and talk to Jarl Ulfric's Thane. Tell him that Ralof of Riverwood sent you and he will most likely let you have an audience. Not to mention...if anyone knows where that dragon came from, it's most likely him."

"You think he knows where the dragon came from?" Kai asked, glancing up in surprise.

"It's very possible that he does," the Nord allowed, looking up at the sky. "We're almost to Riverwood,"

_Yay, _Ula incoherently cheered, not even able to think properly anymore. Her world began to dissolve as she fell asleep, cradled in the arms of her best friend.

It was hard for her to believe that only ten hours had past since she'd woken up in the tree: all of the events she'd experienced had stretched on for an eternity.

Her head lolled and she sighed, feeling safer in Kai's strong arms than anywhere she'd been that day.


	5. Chapter 5: Gerdur's Request

**Chapter Five: Gerdur's Request  
**

_Black... it was all black... nothingness._

_No color._

_No light._

_No sound._

_Nothing but an endless darkness that stretched on endlessly beyond her closed eyelids. She felt so weak that she couldn't even open them... she could feel herself floating weightlessly in the frigidness of this icy void, could feel the fierce winds lifting her hair off to the side... and yet, she couldn't move. She felt so weak that her body was incapable of doing anything. She wanted to open her eyes... she wanted to see where she was, why everything was so windy... why she felt so weightless. W__hen she finally managed to lift her eyelids, she realized with a dazed sense of horror that there was nothing but shadow in front of her._

_Then... the darkness suddenly cracked like a pane of glass, making her blink rapidly. _

_More cracks soon jolted down in front of her... almost seeming to form understandable words, even though they were nothing but jagged lines and odd fissures. _

_Her heart thumped and her eyes slowly widened as an inexplicable horror built up inside her soul: she recognized these symbols... and not only that, she understood what they meant. These weren't cracks... they were words that she had been taught to read a long time ago... she had been taught by someone that even now she held close to her heart. Even to this day... when everything about that person had disappeared from her mind... she remembered all of the teachings she'd inherited. _

_These symbols burned themselves into her eyes... but then, more of them began fraying the endless blackness in resting all around her, cracking it into pieces. She tried to close her eyes again when the symbols continued to shatter the darkness... but then, out of all the blinding words in front of her, one started glowing red and she felt her heart skip a beat. Her name... it was her own name! The word that had been calling to her from the moment she'd been born! She had to speak it: of this, she was certain... she had to speak her name before it turned black! She had to keep it pure! Had to cleanse it with her voice!  
_

_She couldn't let Sora become tainted!_

_Ula started choking when her true name shifted from a hot bright red to a darker shade of crimson, almost seeming to sizzle with something vile._

_Then the name shifted... and her eyes widened when she saw the name 'Ula' taking shape._

_"No... no! I'm not Ula!" she managed to gasp, voice coming out strangled. "I am Sora! I am Sora! I am SORA!" _

_And just like that..._ _the darkness shattered and the world exploded with light. _

_Ula suddenly saw a vision herself running with an outstretched hand on top of an endless lake: she seemed to be running nowhere even though she was going at top speed... and she was also reaching for something with desperation on her face. Then her doppelganger started stumbling and finally lost her balance, long hair being blasted forward by something... but she never lowered her hand. Just before she fell, she reached for something, hair flying around her face and eyes streaming tears.  
_

_There was an unexpected flash of light, similar to a lightning strike, and it erased the vision from view._

_When she was able to see again, she witnessed Svena standing in the middle of a blue void and being blown around by a fierce wind... a wind that seemed to be coming from every direction and was pelting her mercilessly. Her curly hair was flying this way and that and her dress was being jerked as if the wind had unseen hands. Tears were streaming from her eyes and being blown off her face as she stood there, locked in place by the wind, cerulean eyes facing the sky and yearning for something that Ula couldn't see. _

_Then another flash swept the vision away... and she saw Kai, standing soaking wet amongst several white flowers and looking straight at her. _

_His amber eyes looked blank and cold with an unbearable amount of sadness. Her weakness increased when she saw his mouth moving and a tear slid down his copper cheek. Kai was the strongest person she knew... she never wanted to see his tears, ever. He was her pillar of stone... the one man she knew to be rock solid in every decision he made. However, that one tear sliding out of his empty eyes nearly broke her.  
_

_Then he faded into white..._

"Wake up..." _a voice whispered, making her heart still._ "Wake up, Ula..."

_She shook her head, not wanting to do any such thing... she was already awake! _

"Ula!" _Svena whispered, shaking her shoulder._ "Come on! Wake up! I have to go to pee and I don't want to go alone! Please?"

Ula's eyes fluttered a little and she opened them a bit, finding herself staring at a dark blue sky.

"Ugh... she's still out of it," Svena mumbled sadly, sounding a little dismayed. "Well, I guess I'll have to go alone."

The sound of her best friend getting up and leaving didn't even fully click with her brain.

The poor girl felt dazed… almost as though she'd slept for a long time and had somehow been completely unaware of it: her tongue was dry and full of cotton, her throat was parched, her body felt weak, and her hair had somehow turned into an unmanageable haystack. However, when she slowly sat up and looked around, she was expecting to see the familiar surroundings of the bedroom she shared with Svena: not an outdoor woodland with dark trees scattered everywhere.

Ula immediately blinked as a feeling of terror smashed into her stomach.

Eyes going wide with incomprehension, she started breathing raggedly and frantically looked around before pulling the covers up to her chin. However, the moment she realized she was holding animal skins of some sort, her panic skyrocketed through the roof and she let out a terrified wheeze. Heart pounding, the girl scrabbled backwards until she was pressed against a tree, hugging herself and looking at the woods around her with terror-stricken eyes. However, when a burly blonde man unexpectedly stepped around the tree she was leaning against with a sword clutched in his hand, the girl hiccuped in fright and covered her face with both hands.

She quickly burst into tears, already beginning to hyperventilate.

"Calm down, Elf!" Ralof barked, dropping his weapon and falling to his knees in front of her; when he gripped her shoulders, the girl wheezed in terror and struggled to bolt away from him. She didn't even see Kai sitting up and staring at them with groggy eyes. "Oi! Stop struggling and calm yourself!"

Flailing in terror, the girl finally lifted her hands and began hitting him.

Almost immediately, a lightning bolt exploded from her palms.

With a deafening clap of thunder and a blinding flash, the Nord was blown clean into Svena, who had just been coming back through the trees: the olive-skinned girl let out a muffled shriek, but then they went sailing out of sight and landed somewhere unseen. The explosive power radiating from her body was what brought her to: Ula immediately stared at her shaking hands as the memories of the previous day swept through her. Her eyes instantly went blank and she weakly sank back against the tree, shivering violently and crying hysterically. Soon after, Ralof charged back over to the clearing, looking ready to do more than scold her... but when he saw the state she was in, he faltered greatly.

The small girl was now clutching her face with shaking hands and staring at the ground through her fingers with blank eyes.

Her eyes were streaming terrified tears, but somehow... it made him frown deeply.

"Shor's Blood! That really HURT!" Svena angrily shrieked, stomping into the clearing and rubbing her breasts with angry and stunned eyes. "What in the name of all Nine Divines did you just do, Ula?! If that man had hit me any harder, I would have been speared by his armor!"

"As far as I know, she just conjured lightning," Kai weakly whispered, wincing as he watched Svena straighten her clothes. "That must have really hurt..."

"It did," Ralof snapped, whirling with a glare that silenced the Nordic youth. "I'm lucky that I wasn't killed by that damned blast of Magicka!"

"Yeah, but at least you didn't have to get plowed by a man twice your size on top of it," Svena weakly retorted, kneeling down in front of Ula before putting a hesitant hand on her disheveled silver hair. "Look, Ula… yesterday was an extremely terrifying situation, but you're probably going to be enduring the shock you missed out on over the next few days. A calamity can do that to a person: it waits for calm. Trust me, I know."

Ula merely shook her head in protest, face contorting as she slowly buried her face in her knees and began to weep; an enormous ache had started gnawing at her heart when she'd remembered that her home was gone. She was missing everyone so much that it was forcing chest-heaving sobs out of her.

"Please don't cry," Svena murmured unhappily, pulling her into a hug. "We still have to get to Riverwood..."

"We stopped for the night since you passed out," Kai explained, cracking his neck with a yawn, "and plus, everyone else was too tired to continue."

"Which reminds me," Ralof barked, stalking over to his pack and stuffing his supplies back in. "There's still a chance of being ambushed when we're out in the open, so let's get going. Plus, my sister is an early riser, and once we get to her home, we can all wash and change into something fresh. Calm the elf down."

"Don't rush her!" Svena snapped, shooting him a glare. "Ula isn't as strong as you are! She's always had frail health, so yesterday was probably too much for her body!"

"Heal her, then," Ralof sneered, making the Red Guard's eyes narrow in irritation. "You're the best mage in your village, eh? I guess now's your chance to prove it."

Svena's soft lips pressed into a thin, tight line and her skin burned bright red for a moment.

"Fine," the curly-haired girl finally muttered, turning around and extending her hands out to Ula's body, "but only for her sake."

The silver-haired girl glanced up in surprise when Svena's healing magicka engulfed her, and she gasped in unexpected bliss as her injuries and scrapes started healing at an abnormally rapid pace. Her sore joints, her burns, even the majority of her fatigue... all of it slowly melted away, and continued melting even when Svena pulled her into an embrace and healed her more rapidly. Both of them shone bright gold for several moments, illuminating the small clearing with beautiful tendrils.

Then the light faded away and Ula was no longer in any pain.

After a moment, Svena pulled back and sighed, swaying slightly before she blinked and grinned at her.

"Impressive," Ralof muttered, staring at them with raised eyebrows. "I guess your boasts were fair enough. I've never seen such a powerful restoration magicka."

"I only did it for Ula's sake!" Svena snapped, although the albino girl could see the reluctant satisfaction tinging her expression. "I don't care what you think!"

"Let's just get going," Kai muttered hoarsely, rubbing his splinted arm with a wince as he stood up; he'd refused to let Svena heal it the previous night since he personally believed it was his fault for being careless. In a way, the pain would teach him to be more aware of his surroundings. "It's starting to get light out."

Thus, the four of them packed up and started walking the rest of the distance towards Riverwood.

However, relief swept through everyone when the small village finally came into sight.

"Finally!" Kai gasped, shoulders sagging in delight. "I thought we'd never make it back!"

"Let's head to over to Gerdur's," Ralof muttered, heading through the gate and walking along the cobblestone street. "She'll be happy to see me alive, at the very least."

Ula glanced up at Svena and Kai, but the two of them merely shared a glance of their own and shrugged before following him; thus, the trio headed towards the entrance into Riverwood and walked into the dusty cobblestone streets. Ula hid her blood-stained face behind Svena when an old woman sitting on a porch stood up and started yelling at a blonde man who'd said something in a low voice.

"I'm telling you, I saw a dragon!" the woman snapped, shaking her fist at the young man, who had reddish blonde hair and unhappy brown eyes. "It was big as a mountain, and black as night! It flew right over the barrow two days ago! You have to believe me, Sven, it was a real live dragon! That thing is still out there!"

"Dragons now, is it?" the man demanded with an unenthusiastic demeanor. "Mother, please… yesterday you were ranting about a mage and her warrior companion following a caravan of children who had been kidnapped by the empire. If you keep on like this, everyone in town will think you're going crazy!"

"Sven!" the woman gasped indignantly. "That man and woman were really here! I even gave them a map since they came all the way from Darkwater Crossing!"

"I've got better things to do than listen to more of your fantasies," the man sighed, rolling his eyes and walking away with his shoulders tensed up. "I'm heading down to the Tavern to brush up on my music skills, now."

"You'll see the truth, someday!" the woman angrily called, shaking her fist. "It was a dragon, Sven! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!"

"Isn't that kind of backwards? Wouldn't the believing come before the killing?" Kai whispered to Svena, who shrugged and shook her head in confusion; out of a firm desire to thank her for lending them her best map, Kai swept over to the old woman and tapped her arm just as she unhappily turned to head back to her bench. She immediately gasped and covered her mouth in shock when he held out the map with a weak smile. "Excuse me, Ma'am… thank you for letting us use this."

"Oh, my!" the woman gasped, taking the map with shaking hands before glancing at the bloodied girl leaning against Svena. "Oh, dear... you poor thing! What did those horrid people do to you and those other children?!"

"She can't speak," Svena weakly explained, making the old woman's eyes widen in sympathy. "However, what I want to ask you now is this: did you really see a dragon?"

"Yes," the woman muttered, holding her back as she hobbled over to her chair and sat down, weakly straightening her bonnet, "nobody believes, but I'm telling you, I saw a dragon yesterday! It was the most frightening thing I've ever seen! It was so large!"

"Where did it fly off to?" Kai asked, frowning worriedly before glancing at Ralof, who was irritably urging them to hurry up. "Did you catch the direction?"

"It flew east, towards the barrow!" the woman murmured, wincing a bit. "Old Hilde has to rest now, dears... but if you ever need anything, just come back!"

"Okay, Ma'am," Svena chirped, giving her a grateful bow and folding her shaking hands. "Thank you for everything you've done! If it hadn't been for you, saving my sister wouldn't have been possible... so, thank you! Someday, I will definitely return the kindness you've shown me, I swear it!"

"No worries, child," the woman chuckled, closing her pale blue eyes. "Oh, and did you hear? The Riverwood trader was robbed… poor Lucan must be torn to pieces over it. The man is such a hard worker, too."

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Ralof barked, making everyone jump in surprise. "Gerdur's house is this way, so come on!"

"Sorry, we've got to go now," Kai muttered, giving Hilde a wave and heading off with Ula at his side. "Thank you for everything."

The pale girl glanced over her shoulder and blinked when she realized the woman was staring at her ears with a startled expression. Ralof led them down the road with Svena, Ula, and Kai clustered close behind him; the albino merely observed her surroundings as she followed the three of them. The houses and buildings seemed to be made of sturdy wood from the forest, but the roofs were completely thatched.

"Ralof!" a man with an extremely thick accent suddenly cried, startling Ula so badly that she jumped into the air. "What are you doing here?!"

"Long story, Hodd!" the blonde Nord called back. "A very long story, indeed!"

"Wait, wait!" the man shouted. "Just stay there, I'll be right down!"

"Meet me at the pine island!" the rugged Stormcloak called; Kai chose that moment to adjust his make-shift sling, but when a blonde boy shredded past him with a whoop of delight, he practically fell over Ula and Svena both watched with wide eyes as he sprinted over to Ralof and glomped his leg with a laugh.

"Uncle Ralof!" the child cried, looking up at the burly man with shining blue eyes. "Can I see your axe?! How many Imperials have you killed?! Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?! Who're your pretty new friends?! Can I play with the white-haired one?!"

"Pretty? Do you mean me?" Svena shakily asked, looking more a bit flustered when she pointed to herself and the boy nodded. "Er... we're only acquaintances, little one."

Right around that moment, a rather pretty young woman with a freckled face walked around a nearby tree and looked at them with light blue eyes.

"Hush, Frodnar," the blonde woman murmured in a beautiful Nordic accent. "This is no time for your games. Go and watch the south road for me: I want you come find us again if you happen to see any imperial soldiers coming."

"Aw, Mama," the blonde boy pouted, frowning at the woman. "I want to stay and talk to Uncle Ralof!"

"Look at you!" Ralof murmured, squatting down and measuring the boy's height with a glint of fatherly pride in his normally frigid blue eyes. "You're almost a grown man! It won't be long before you'll be joining the fight, yourself!"

"That's right, Uncle Ralof!" the boy bravely exclaimed, puffing his little chest out. "Don't worry, I won't let those soldiers sneak up on you, _or_ your pretty friends! They'll never make it here in time if I'm on patrol!"

"Would you really do that for us?" Svena asked, glancing at him with a small smile. "Thank you!"

"Don't worry!" Frodnar laughed, eyes shining at the praise. "I'll make sure you're all safe!"

And with that, he ran right past them a second time, making both Kai and Svena giggle in amusement.

Ula's eyes lowered when she once again realized that they looked perfect for each other: Svena was extremely beautiful, and Kai was a very handsome young man. The two of them would be a perfect match for each other... she had always thought so, but she hadn't really ever understood her mixed feelings about them becoming a couple.

Ula watched with hesitant eyes as they made their way over to the woman and two men standing in the shelter of the pine tree.

Then she followed, purposely hiding behind Svena and staring at the ground with an uneasy expression.

"Now, what's going on?" Hodd asked, glancing at Kai before observing the way Ula was clinging to Svena; then he looked at his in-law. "You four look pretty done in."

"That's one way to put it," Ralof muttered, shaking his head before rubbing his face. "Whew… where to start? Well, the news you've probably heard about Ulfric getting caught was true: the Imperials ambushed us in Darkwater Village, almost like they knew exactly where we'd be. That was… two days ago, now. When we stopped in Helgen, I thought it was all over for us... they had us lined up to the headsman's block and ready to start chopping."

"Oh, Gods!" Svena whispered in horror, looking down at Ula when she flinched and shuddered violently. "Is that how Ula's wrists got injured?!"

"Yes," Ralof added, shaking his head before grabbing Ula and pulling her away from Svena; the girl shook her head and tried to pull back, but he gently lifted her up and set her down in front of Gerdur. "This girl right here is so small that she obviously isn't a threat, and on top of that... she has a handicap: she can't even speak. Despite that, they were going to execute her simply because the captain of the guard didn't like elves. A mere child was put under the executioner's blade!"

"The cowards," Gerdur hissed, glancing down at Ula in sympathetic shock; the girl flinched when she was pulled into a hug, but then she glanced at Svena and Kai. "Who are they, though, and how did you meet them? Were they lined up to be executed, as well?"

"No... I feinted leaving the Elf behind when I heard them coming," Ralof stated simply, making Ula glance at him in surprise. "I trailed back and kept watch to see if they were a threat to Stormcloaks, but they aren't, and in fact, they seem to be relatively close to the Elf child: they're all from the same village, according to what I heard."

"I'm her elder sister," Svena stated softly, stepping forward and pulling Ula back with gentle hands. "We're siblings in every sense of the word... aside from blood."

"And I'm their closest friend," Kai added, lifting his arm and waving a bit. "The three of us are a family... we've always been together."

"How did you end up getting yourself mixed in such a mess?" Gerdur bluntly asked, furrowing her brows as she looked at Ralof. "Tell me!"

"They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a trial," Ralof grumbled, thick neck tensing in fury. "Treason, for fighting for your own people! All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then, and I was prepared to let it happen! But then… out of nowhere… a dragon attacked…"

"You don't mean a real, live…" Gerdur hesitantly asked, face going slack in shock. "I don't believe it."

"I can hardly believe it myself, and I was there," Ralof hesitantly countered, looking at Ula when she shuddered violently. "As strange as it's going to sound, we'd be dead if it hadn't been for that dragon. In the confusion, the elf and I managed to slip away, then used each other's help to escape... are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

"Nobody else has come up the south road in the last five days," Gerdur replied, but then added carefully, "as far as I know."

"Good," Ralof stated in a hoarse voice, rubbing his eyes in a tired manner. "Maybe the three of us can lay up for a while. I'd hate to put your family in danger, Gerdur, but…"

"Nonsense," the woman stated soothingly, putting her hands under his arms and pulling him into a hug; then she turned and walked over to Svena with a friendly expression on her face; she quickly pulled something out of her pocket and held it out with a grim expression. "Here's the key to the house: you, your sister, and your friend are welcome to stay here as long as you need to. Let me worry about the imperials: any friend of Ralof's is a friend of mine... especially since it seems he owes you his life."

"May the Earth you walk on quake in your passage," Svena murmured respectfully, bowing her head in a traditional manner, "and may your blade be true."

"Divines smile on you," Gerdur murmured, shaking her head before a thought struck her. "There is something you could do for me, though… I need to get a letter to the Jarl of Whiterun: he has to know that there's a dragon on the loose since Riverwood is defenseless against any kind of aerial attack. I need to get word so he'll send more guards down here. If you three would do that for me after resting for a few days, I'd be very much in your debt."

"Of course!" Kai exclaimed, eyes widening in shock. "We'll do it!"

"Kai!" Svena gasped, smacking his shoulder in dismay. "How on earth could you decide something like that so recklessly?! Hasn't Ula been through enough?!"

"Yes, but if a dragon attacks Riverwood, it'll end up like Helgen," the boy immediately retorted, giving her a glare that silenced her outrage. "Do you not remember what her eyes looked like when we found her? We're taking this job, regardless of what you say, because she doesn't need to be put through anything more."

Ula's face fell and she weakly rubbed one of her blood-stained arms before glancing down at her soiled dress.

She instantly winced in disgust: it hadn't really been a pretty one to begin with, but now it looked simply horrible... she wanted to strip it off.

"Well, just take your time and think about it for a while: traveling to the Capital isn't an easy thing to do in such dangerous times," Gerdur sighed, then glanced at Ula's clothes with something close to disgust. "You, my dear, are the one who's most in need of a bath as far as I can tell. I'll go draw the water... feel free to wait out here until it's ready. I think I have an old dress lying around somewhere, too... that outfit of yours is irreparable."

"May I use the floor to sleep?" Kai weakly asked, swaying back and forth from exhaustion; his face was flushed and he looked exhausted. "I don't feel very well..."

"Of course," Gerdur allowed, nodding a few times before heading inside with her husband, Hodd, close behind. "I'll be back when the bath is ready."

"Are you all right?" Svena asked, glancing at Kai when he touched his arm with a wince. "Let me see your arm."

"No, I'm fine," he retorted, trying to act tough before he dizzily stumbled and started to fall over; Ula's ears shot straight out in alarm and she bolted over to his side, throwing her arms out and wrapping them beneath his own in an attempt to halt his fall. However, her eyes widened when his weight proved to be too much, and within only a few seconds, he collapsed on top of her. Ula flailed her legs in mortification when Ralof merely folded his arms chuckled at her spirited attempt to get free... but that's when Svena rushed over and gently removed his arm from the sling.

She gasped after unwrapping his injuries: they had become severely infected.

"Ugh! You are so NOT fine!" Svena groaned, angrily smacking the sickly young man on the back of his head. "Are you nuts?! You should have told me it was infected, moron! Even if you didn't want healing, the least you could have done was let me cleanse the infection! Now it's gonna take even more energy to do so!"

"Sorry, Svena," Kai grumbled, wincing when the girl lifted her hands and used her Magicka to clean the infection from his body. "Oh, Gods... that feels wonderful..."

"Want me to heal it all the way, then?" the Red Guard inquired, quirking an eyebrow at him. "I can do it, you know."

"Fine," Kai muttered, closing his eyes in defeat; within seconds, his flesh had been healed and the wolf's bite was gone. "Thank you... I feel much better."

"Good!" Svena snapped, grabbing his ear and practically dragging him off of Ula, who had turned bright red and was shaking violently. "Now stay off of Ula! I'm going to go inside to see if Sir Ralof's sister needs any help."

And with that, Svena whisked inside the house with her curls bobbing around her ears.

"A handsome woman, that," Ralof noted, watching her backside as she departed. "Hard to believe she's not even fully grown."

"How do you know she isn't?" Kai bluntly retorted, shooting him a particularly protective glare. "For your information, I am aged ten and eight years... Svena is one year older than I am. By the laws of Skyrim, she _is_ fully grown, and very capable of surviving as I'm sure you've noticed."

"How old is the Elf?" Ralof asked, jerking his thumb at Ula, who was now standing at the edge of the river and looking at a few birds who'd settled in a tree. Her pink eyes had softened in the light, the only thing on her that didn't look filthy by this point. "She seems fairly young... a child, really."

"Ten and five years," the copper-skinned Nord explained, slanted amber eyes flashing. "She's younger than us, but no less intelligent... and every time you call her 'Elf', I'm sure it probably hurts her a little. So, if you'd so kindly oblige, I'd appreciate it if you addressed her by her name from now on."

"Why should I?" Ralof bluntly demanded, making Kai narrow his eyes. "She's an elf, isn't she? That's actually been bothering me, since she's unlike any elf I've ever seen."

"We don't know what she is," the boy honestly explained, eliciting a confused frown from the blonde man. "Nobody aside from myself knows how she arrived... they thought she might be an elf hybrid, but personally, I'm not so sure. She's of a different sort... but either way, unique or not, Ula is a very loving girl and she deserves better. I know there's a deep-seated hatred of elves, but unlike them, she's got no evil inside her."

"The bath is ready," Gerdur called, sticking her head out of her front door; Ula instantly looked at her with delighted eyes and ran right past Ralof, who eyed her silver haystack with something close to distaste. "Come, child... let's get you cleaned up."

When she was led inside and taken to a huge tub in the back yard, Gerdur helped her peel the filthy dress off and they tossed it onto a burn pit.

Svena was sitting on a nearby stool.

When Ula slid into the wooden tub, her eyes instantly rolled and she shivered in delight: the last time she'd had a bath felt like months ago.

"Let me wash your back," Svena suddenly sighed, getting to her feet and grabbing the scrub brush; without a word, the dark-haired woman knelt down in front of the tub and Ula pulled her long hair over her shoulder. The feeling of hard bristles made her wince, but she eventually relaxed and allowed the Red Guard to help her: after all, it would end up being better for her in the long run. Svena did this in complete silence for several minutes, not speaking a single word.

Then, after nearly ten minutes of this oddly comfortable silence, Gerdur came back outside.

"Young one," the blonde woman called, smiling at the two girls with friendly blue eyes. "I brought your little sister a dress that belonged to me when I was but a girl; I'll just leave it over here on the side table. This dress is very, very old, though, so the style is extremely simple... I don't know if she will like it, but—"

Ula instantly turned around and waved her hands, eyes shining with protest.

Gerdur stared at her in blank confusion, not getting the message; Svena instantly sighed and rolled her eyes.

"She's trying to say that it'll be fine... after all, this is so far beyond kindness that you shouldn't even talk like that!" the healer explained, smiling when Ula peered at her with wide, grateful eyes. "Also, about earlier... I... I'm sorry for protesting the offer to go talk to the Jarl. It's just... Ula... she's been through so much..."

"You must be having a difficult time," the woman stated seriously, looking at her with worried blue eyes. "I don't blame you... I don't even think you've told me what your names are."

"Oh, my name is Svena," the dark-haired girl squeaked, then gestured to Ula with a sigh. "My little sister's name is Ula, and the huge boy with the dark skin you saw earlier is our closest friend, Kaikeeryn... but we just call him Kai since it's easier on the tongue."

"Huh... you Red Guards sure have some very strange names," the woman murmured, shaking her head with a baffled expression. "My name is Gerdur the Gentle, Daughter of Helgoryn the Strong... but all of my friends call me Gerdie. Anyway, when you're done, feel free to change into the clothes I set on the table. Dinner is ready when you are."

When the woman left with a motherly nod, Ula blinked a few times and turned around.

"She's a nice person," Svena whispered, watching as Ula drew her knees up to her chin; the warmth of the water soothed the smaller girl. "I'm kind of shocked..."

Regardless, by the time Svena was done scrubbing her off, she was cleaner than she'd been in a while.

Her silver hair practically gleamed like snow and her skin was so bright that it was almost blinding.

"If you want, I'll do your hair to keep it out of your eyes again," Svena offered, eying the girl's thigh-length tresses. "If you'd like me to, you can go ahead and relax on the stool... I've wanted to try this style on you for a long time, but it's actually rather taxing to get it right. Do you want to try?"

Ula hesitantly nodded before slowly making her way over to the stool and sitting down in nothing but her underclothes.

"Well, then just sit still and do as I say," the older girl murmured kindly, pulling an old-fashioned bristle brush out of her pocket along with a comb made out of some type of animal bone; Ula winced when the teeth of the brush snagged on her hair, but she dealt with the pain in silence. After all, she was used to it: Svena was always messing with her hair since it was so long... she rather liked the sensations that came with it, most of the time.

"You're going to look very pretty when all is said and done," Svena chuckled proudly, nodding in approval. "Let's get started, okay? Then we'll get you dressed."

Thus began a long ordeal to recover Ula's every-day look.

However, when they were done and Ula had donned the simple white dress that Gerdur had given her, the two women headed around from the back with their hands interlaced. The two of them then made their way over to where Gerdur, Kai, and Ralof were waiting with folded arms. However, the moment the two males glanced at her, they both encountered different reactions to her appearance: Ralof's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open before he caught himself and turned away, shifting his legs a bit as a bright red flush swept across his face. Kai merely cocked an eyebrow and grinned in a stunned manner, since Ula's hair looked drop-dead gorgeous. Her bangs had been braided and pulled behind her head, where they'd been tied in place with a large white ribbon.

Gerdur merely eyed her up and down before nodding in amusement..

"The dress looks good on you," the woman sighed, shaking her head. "You have a very rare kind of beauty."

Ula didn't want to admit it, but when she glanced in the river and saw her own reflection, she nearly passed out from the shock that went through her.

"Where does Jarl Baalgruff live?" Svena hesitantly asked, slowly moving forward. "How do we get to Whiterun?"

"Don't worry: we'll borrow Hilde's map again," Kai instantly whispered into her ear, catching Ula's attention; she was now being completely ignored and her looks had been totally forgotten, which she was very grateful for. "Don't worry too much: I may not know my way around Skyrim, but I _do _know how to strike up a damn good bargain."

So saying, he stepped up to Gerdur and politely asked if there were any provisions to be bought; the blonde woman nodded and responded by leading him towards her house. Ula and Svena waited in the waning afternoon as Ralof limped after them with an exhausted demeanor. After about ten minutes of waiting, Kai came back with an enormous hiking pack slung across his broad shoulders and two smaller packs dangling from his hand.

"We'll be taking these with us once we actually start traveling," Kai stated simply, setting the packs down with a sigh. "Gerdur is going to set out some bedrolls on the floor of her house, but in exchange, I'm going to help her with the lumber mill until we get out of here. I'm fairly strong, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Svena hissed, glancing at Ula before scooting towards him and leaning close; the albino had been distracted by a butterfly with wings the color of a rainbow, and she'd followed it with curious eyes, expression completely lit up with wonder. "There's plenty to worry about! Whiterun is far away from here, isn't it?"

"Only a day's journey," Kai chuckled, unwrapping a loaf of bread with a grin. "We can make it, trust me!"

The woman only grumbled and sat down on a rock before eating her own lunch.

When the two of them were full and satisfied, Svena watched Ula with somber eyes: the girl was now sitting in a bed of grass and staring at the flowers that were slowly growing more colorful around her. Her eyes were still soft and innocent... Svena was relieved to see that she hadn't changed after her ordeals. The woman smiled without even realizing it, and she unthinkingly took Kai's hand and squeezed his palm a little bit to let him know that she was happy.

"As long as she's still happy," Svena sighed, glancing at Kai with a soft smile, "I could travel to the ends of the world."

With that, she closed her eyes and sighed in content.

However, she didn't see that Ula had started crying... didn't see the way she cradled the flowers blooming beside her.

Yes... Ula was holding them tenderly, almost as though she were praying that their brilliant colors would shield her mind from everything she'd seen the previous day.

Unfortunately, nothing could erase those horrors aside from time... and sadly, she didn't even realize that the little time she had left to be a child was running out.

Nobody did.


	6. Chapter 6: Mystery of the Golden Claw

**Chapter Six: Mystery of the Golden Claw  
**

Over the next few days, Kai worked harder than ever before after learning how to work a wood mill: impatience was driving him on, and he seemed extremely frustrated about something only he was aware of. Svena was usually talking to Gerdur or helping her in the kitchen, so the two of them had quickly discovered that they had a lot in common as far as personal tastes went. They'd slowly come to enjoy each other's company, and after two days of being near each other, they'd become friends.

Ralof, on the other hand, did absolutely nothing but sleep... and his appetite was virtually non-existent.

"I'm worried about him," Gerdur finally admitted to Svena one evening, watching her brother sleep on his bed. "He's never acted like this before... normally Ralof tries to stay up until his body can't take anymore and shuts down on its own. This isn't normal... could he be ill?"

"I don't think he's ill," Svena stated softly, giving the blonde woman a somewhat pensive expression. "At least... not physically."

"What does that mean?" Gerdur asked, wringing her hands with a sigh. "How can someone be ill and not have it affect the body? It makes no sense!"

"It makes quite a bit of sense," Svena weakly countered, closing her eyes with a sigh as Ula's behavior flashed into her mind. "Your brother might be acting this way because of what he saw after he and Ula were taken to Helgen... it is not so much a sickness of the body than a sickness of the soul."

Gerdur's face fell and she lowered her husky blue eyes, mouth pulling into a frown.

"What of your... friend?" the woman carefully asked, having already discovered that Ula's unidentifiable race was a touchy subject. "How has she been faring? I haven't seen head or tail of her _or_ my son these last few days... Frodnar only comes home when it's time to eat or sleep."

"Ula's been acting very distant lately," Svena muttered, sitting down at the woman's table with a sigh. "In her own way, I think what she's doing is similar to everything Ralof is doing: she keeps going up to the river and climbs the tallest trees to get away from the world. She's always felt safest near the woods, so I think that's why she's avoiding everyone. It's possible that your son simply wants a new friend to play with... most boys his age generally do."

"I still can't believe they witnessed a dragon attack," Gerdur stated in a low voice, shivering and rubbing her arms. "Do you think... that it could be true?"

"Yes," Svena stated honestly, eyes becoming far away. "In fact, I don't even have a single doubt because Ula agreed with everything Ralof said."

"How could you not have doubts?!" the Nordic woman gasped, looking at her in surprise. "Just because that girl nodded, you'd believe it to be the truth?!"

"Yes," Svena confirmed, giving her a friendly smile, "and there's a reason for it, too: during all the years Kai and I have known her, that girl has never told a falsehood in any shape or form. She is... almost fearfully honest, or maybe she's simply extremely naive. Either way, when she confirms something, it's best to take heed."

"That's troubling," Gerdie muttered, accent becoming extremely thick with worry. "I will be grateful to you three when you take news of the dragon to the Jarl."

With that, she headed downstairs and Svena got up to start making supper.

The nights in Riverwood were cool, but by day it was so hot that Kai found it hard to work.

While everyone was off doing their own thing, however, Ula often sat beside old lady Hilde: on some days, the woman would tell her amazing stories about a place with an active volcano that lay far across the ocean called Morrowind. On other days, Hilde's son, Sven, would come and practice playing his pipe instrument for them: he would eagerly sing some songs and ask for his mother's approval, but more often than not, his music would put the old woman to sleep. During the moments when Hilde did so, he would turn to her and ask Ula with his eyes if his songs were all right, to which she always nodded.

Ula had always been attentive to the notes weaving out of the instrument: she found them beautiful... all of the vibrations and harmonies were magnificent to her ears.

She didn't understand why nobody seemed to like his songs: to her, they sounded like Magicka.

Nearly four days after her arrival to Riverwood, the girl decided to visit the Sleeping Giant Inn... and sadly, that's how she saw Sven's true colors: he was in the middle of a heated argument with a shorter man wearing a cowl-like hat. The Nord's face was extremely red, and the smaller man seemed to be huddling inward on himself.

"Faendal, I've told you before," Sven growled, making the smaller man shiver a little. "Keep your nasty inhuman hands away from Camilla! She's _my_ woman!"

"I can't do that!" Faendal immediately stated in a calm tone, speaking with no accent or inflections to his voice. "I'm in love with her. I cannot back down."

"You think you have a chance with a woman like her?!" Sven snapped, then glanced around the room in amusement, as though he were looking to see if people were nodding in agreement. Ula, who was standing in the doorway with large eyes and ears that were sticking straight out, felt rather stunned. "Camilla Valerius is a pure-blooded Nord, Faendal: you are nothing but a pathetic Bosmer hybrid who has no wealth, nothing to give, and a lousy income. Someone like you isn't worthy of her: in fact, I doubt even another wood elf would court you!"

"I know I am worthless..." Faendal whispered, sounding thoroughly unhappy, "but despite that, she looks beyond my heritage and sees me for who I am, as an individual... and I simply cannot give that up. I don't want to back down, because Camilla is the first and only human to ever see me as something more than... ugly."

And with that, he turned around and walked towards the other end of the Inn with sagging shoulders.

Sven folded his arms with a huff of air before sitting back down and pulling his mandolin out: not glancing up, he began tuning it with furrowed brows.

Ula merely stood in place and clutched her dress, heart locking up in sympathy for the so-called wood elf.

Her feelings really did go out to him... even someone as kind as Sven had such a strong dislike for elves that he wasn't able to see past it. She'd never seen this side of the aspiring Bard... but deep down, he was just like everyone else: the Nord hadn't ever openly shown any dislike for Ula over the last few days, but somehow... she'd known his feelings about her were most likely on the same level as his feelings for Faendal.

And that hurt, simply because she'd thought she'd been making a friend the whole time.

She knew it wasn't any of her business... she knew she shouldn't have tried getting involved... but she did it anyway, and her feet started moving before she could stop them. Long hair swirling behind her and reflecting the firelight like a mirror, Ula slowly made her way over to where Faendal had unhappily sat down in the corner.

Then, she scooted in beside him and tapped his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

However, her eyes widened when he looked at her: it was her first time seeing a wood elf of any sort up close... and almost immediately, she understood why everyone disliked them so much. Faendal had a very thin and extremely angular bone structure: on top of that, his skin was an odd shade of brown, his eyes were huge and slanted in an extreme angle, and his irises were such a dark shade of maroon that they looked almost black. Then again... she couldn't really say such features were ugly: quite the contrary, she found them to be utterly fascinating since they were so _different._

The pale girl stared at his thin lips and sharp jaw for a moment, then glanced at his extremely long ears before her gaze flicked to his small nose.

"Can I help you, stranger?" Faendal inquired somewhat hesitantly, blinking slowly and curiously. "Is there something you need of me?"

Ula merely shook her head and tapped her throat with a somber expression before mimicking talking.

He stared at her a little more intently, cocking his head slightly: his eyes were no longer blinking.

Since he looked confused, she repeated the signal and attempted to explain that she couldn't speak, but he didn't seem to be capable of comprehending it.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Faendal stated in a calm voice, finally blinking twice before turning back to the table. "Why are you sitting here?"

Ula huffed in frustration before struggling to use her voice: she struggled so hard that it felt as though her throat might collapse from the pressure of her muscles.

"Can't..." the girl forcefully wheezed out, making him glance at her in curiosity; the mark on her throat had once again begun glowing. "Can't... talk..."

"You just did so," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow when she started breathing hard and swallowed. "Ah, well... what do you need of me?"

The girl merely nodded at Sven before patting his shoulder with a comforting smile: he instantly winced, finally seeming to understand the reason behind her actions.

"Ah..." he sighed, shaking his head with a solemn expression. "So, you saw that, then?"

Ula nodded with a slight wince before giving him an apologetic expression.

"Well, it's not like he's wrong in any way," Faendal murmured, lifting his head and staring at the ceiling in remorse. "I'm not worthy of her affection. Someone as beautiful as Camilla Valerius... there's no way the divines would be so kind. She's beautiful both inside and out... and me? I'm just a lowly elf, and a poor one, at that... but despite all of that, I can't stop my heart from yearning for her... I... I love that woman."

For a moment, he seemed to space out... but then he blinked and glanced at her snowy features and sharp ears with a somewhat interested expression.

"I'm sure you can understand my hardships, right?" he asked, sounding more than a bit depressed. "You're a hybrid like I am... aren't you? If you are, you're very lucky, you know: it would seem that the human gene came out stronger in your makeup, so you look relatively pretty compared to someone like me."

Ula blinked and her cheeks turned bright red for a moment; she instantly averted her eyes, staring at the ground with a startled expression.

She had never been called pretty before... at least, not by someone of the opposite gender.

Svena had said it all the time when she'd been younger, and lots of other women had always told her that she was growing up into a beautiful lady, but hearing it from a grown male... it gave her a different feeling entirely. After a moment, her cheeks had cooled off enough for her to feel more comfortable, so she slowly turned to meet his gaze once again; they merely stared at each other for a long moment, not really speaking and not really knowing why the other was staring.

"You know, Sven doesn't understand Camilla the way I do," Faendal finally admitted, giving a nearby blonde woman a wave when she walked out of a storeroom and started drilling her husband about the Ale going bad. "I was with her all day yesterday out in the fields... she was unhappy because her brother, Lucan, found out where their stolen goods were: she wanted to go get them, but he's refusing to let her... and they've been fighting ever since. I simply want to make her happy again... and if I could go get the heirloom that they lost, I'm sure she'd understand my feelings for her, too."

Ula's ears perked up as a question suddenly struck her: if that was really how he felt, why hadn't he done it yet?

Most obvious reason: he needed help.

Eyes sparkling as a plan began taking shape, the teenage girl grabbed Faendal's sleeve and gently tugged on it.

When he looked at her, he blinked when he saw her hopeful smile: then she tugged on his sleeve again and stood up, waving for him to follow and bouncing up and down.

"You want me to follow you?" he asked, sounding mildly perplexed and somewhat reluctant. "I don't know. Who are you, anyway? A traveler?"

The girl nodded fervently and waved him, smiling with a pleading expression: she looked so earnest that his wary expression softened into a calm one. Without a word, he stood up and followed her with a curious expression, watching as she practically flew towards the Inn doors. Sven and the blonde woman glanced up and watched both of them when the albino happily threw the door open and tore outside.

"Where are you going, Elf?" Sven sneered, making Faendal pause and glance over his shoulder. "You'd better stay away from Camilla!"

"Or what?" Faendal asked, cocking his head with tired maroon eyes. "You'll hurt me? Beat me? _Kill_ me? Don't attempt to control me, Sven... I'm not an animal."

And with that, he followed Ula outside and watched as she skipped over to her new favorite tree, which stood tall and proud beside the river. When she finally turned to look at him again, her eyes were sparkling and she seemed excited: the wood elf merely blinked and watched as she faced the water, lifted her hands, took a deep breath... and then thrust her palms out with an unexpected jolt. The elf jumped and leaped away from her with a horrid start when two lightning bolts exploded out of her palms with a deafening thunderclap.

He blinked, breathing quickly and heavily from the fright that had just assaulted him.

When the girl turned back around with a grin and waved him closer, he didn't want to move forward... but his curiosity was piqued when she squatted down in the dirt and started moving her pointer finger around in a precise manner. When he came closer, he blinked in surprise and knelt down as well, taking in everything she'd drawn: from what the elf could tell, he was looking at a drawing of a woman with long hair and stick arms covering her face as tears rained out to the sides.

In front of the stick-woman was a stick-man with a big mask holding a supposedly sparkling blob... the heirloom?

The girl then drew a big, curvacious line in front of the masked stick-man, a line that started out thick before growing thinner.

The wood-elf frowned when she made a questioning symbol at the very end of it.

"So... may I attempt to voice what this is supposed to mean?" Faendal asked, trying to hide a smirk when the girl happily nodded; giving her a sigh, he pointed at the crying stick woman with perplexed eyes. "From what I can gather... _that_ is Camilla Valerius crying over the stolen heirloom... and _that_ is the thief carrying it away from the Riverwood Trading shop... so, does that mean the curving line is the path he took? Is this correct?"

Ula nodded and beamed so winningly that he frowned in confusion.

"Well, what does that all mean?" he asked, sounding confused. "Why show me something like this?"

Ula held up a finger and continued drawing.

Faendal leaned forward and watched with undeniable curiosity as the girl drew a stick figure with a triangular dress and really long ears before making a tall stick man with similar ears shaking hands. Then she drew the two stick people standing in front of Camilla, who's frown had become a smile and had thrown her stick-arms in the air. Then she drew the two stick-elves following the path that the criminal took and marking the question symbol with an 'X'.

After that, she grinned at him with hopeful eyes: his jaw was soon hanging open.

"Wait... are you proposing," he hesitantly began, staring at her with a somewhat nervous expression, "that we should go after those bandits to retrieve the heirloom?"

Ula nodded so frantically that she almost lost her balance: the elf merely stared at her in disbelief.

"You definitely have a shot at getting whatever you're looking for if _that_ girl goes with you," a familiar Nordic voice commented, making both of them jump and whirl to the side; Ula and Faendal started blinking rapidly when they spotted Ralof lounging against a nearby tree with a hollow expression. "Like every rational person, I originally had a deep hatred for elves, you know... but then I met her and my views were shaken because she alone helped me escape from a dragon attack."

"W-what?!" Faendal squeaked, standing straight up with enormous eyes; he instantly glanced down at Ula, who's eyes had become somber. "D-d-dragon?! What do you mean by that?! I was always told that dragons were nothing more than myths! A child's story!"

"I thought the same thing until one of those very myths burned Helgen right off the map," Ralof grimly explained, glancing at Ula with fierce eyes. "That girl and myself are the only ones who made it out of there alive as far as I know... if there were any other survivors, they most likely had other destinations in mind aside from Riverwood. The girl you're talking to is a mage, friend... she's not a very powerful one, but she's quick enough on her feet to hold her own if you work together. If she thinks you should apprehend some bandits in order to retrieve something important to you, I think you should listen."

"A-are you certain?" Faendal asked, looking a little less dismayed; he honestly seemed to be considering Ula's offer now. "She looks like nothing more than a child."

"From what I gathered, she's by no means a grown woman yet," Ralof snorted, making the Elf frown at him, "but she's as tough as any Nord I've ever met: on our way out of Helgen, she took out several armed men using nothing but quick thinking and sheer willpower. She's a strong girl, mark my words."

Faendal frowned before glancing down at Ula, who was smiling at him with hopeful eyes: she genuinely wanted to help the poor guy win Camilla's heart.

After a moment, the male elf took his hat off and sighed: Ula twitched when his hair came tumbling down around his sharp ears.

It was extremely long on top of being an unusual ash-grey color: the hue was fairly similar to her own, but... somehow, not even close for some reason.

"All right," Faendal finally sighed, shaking his head in total dismay. "Let's go talk to Lucan... I'm sure he'll be thrilled to have someone willing to offer help."

"Hey, Elf Girl," Ralof called, making Ula glance at him questioningly. "I'm planning to rest here for a few more days before I return to Windhelm. Remember what I said, okay?"

Ula immediately recalled his statement about joining the Stormcloaks and sighed, giving him a solemn nod.

With that, Faendal hesitantly led the way towards the Riverwood Trading Shop with Ula close behind: she was nervous, that much was true, but she didn't think it would be too hard for them to retrieve some stolen goods. After all, she could use magic if self-defense became necessary... and if she wwas going to be honest, she really did want to help Faendal get the heirloom back. She didn't know how they would do it yet, but she knew deep down in her heart that everything would turn out okay.

When Faendal opened the door, however, the two of them were shocked by the sound of an argument taking place.

"Well, one of us has to do something!" a woman with a pixie-like face and glossy dark hair stated in a sour tone; Ula immediately noticed that she had dreamy hazel eyes and pale skin that was dotted with adorable freckles. "We know where it is, Lucan! If we wait any longer, they could take it somewhere else!"

"I said no!" the man standing behind the wooden counter rapped out, gravelly voice coming out extremely sharp. "No adventures, no theatrics, no thief chasing!"

"Well, what are you going to do, then?!" the woman demanded, folding her arms over her chest. "Let's hear it!"

"We are done talking about this, Camilla!" the man roared, slamming his hands down on the shop counter; Ula and Faendal flinched when the woman let out a huff and lowered her arms with a hostile glare. Then the man noticed them standing there with open mouths and coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Oh... er, customers. Sorry you had to hear that... my sister and I were discussing something that happened a few days ago."

The woman turned around and made to head across the room, but then she happened to notice who was standing in the front entrance.

"Faendal?" Camilla asked, blinking at him when he blushed scarlet and looked away with a nervous expression. "Well, this is unusual... who's your pretty friend?"

"I honestly don't know her name," the wood-elf admitted, glancing down at Ula; the girl looked up at him and shrugged. "From what I've gathered, she can't speak."

"Well, if that's the case, hello," Camilla greeted in a sweet, whispery tone of voice; when the woman stepped forward and held out a hand to Ula, who shook it tentatively, the girl immediately noticed that her entire face lit up when she smiled. "Any friend of Faendal's is a friend of mine! I'm Camilla, but if you don't feel comfortable with that, you can just think of me as 'Auntie' if you'd like: every town child does, so I've kind of gotten used to it. I'm sorry you had to hear that... but we've had a bit of trouble with a thief who stole a valuable heirloom from us."

Ula instantly nudged the wood-elf standing beside her: he ran a hand through his silvery hair before moving over to the counter and looking at Lucan.

"Actually, that's why we're here," Faendal murmured, looking the man in the eyes with a solemn expression. "We wanted to know—"

"I don't know what you overheard, but the Riverwood Trader is still open," Lucan interrupted, giving him a wary expression. "Feel free to shop."

_"That's_ not why we're here," Faendal chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck when Ula came to stand beside him; Camilla sat down and watched the two pointy-eared folk with curious eyes, setting her hands in her lap and looking for all the world like a proper noblewoman. "Actually, we wanted to know what happened... so... do you think you could tell me what went on the other day?"

"Uh... eeyuugh..." Lucan reluctantly groaned, wincing a bit before shaking his head in dismay. "Yes, well... uh... we did have a bit of a break-in, but we still have plenty to sell, you know! Robbers were only after one thing, it seems: an ornament... solid gold, in the shape of a dragon's claw."

"Okay," Faendal sighed, then took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. "Y-you see, the reason we're here... is because we want to help you get it back. I used to be a woodsman and an archer, and I also know a bit about swordplay... so... this girl and I want to go get the claw for you. We could do it if you'll have us..."

"You could?!" Lucan asked, eyes widening with a hopeful gleam; Camilla instantly squeezed the hem of her dress with large eyes. "I've got some gold coming in from my next shipment... if you bring the claw back, it's yours. If you're going to get those thieves, you should head to Bleak Falls Barrow, Northeast of town! That's where they are!"

"Are you serious?" Camilla demanded, instantly getting to her feet with a red face. "This is your brilliant plan?! You're going to let Faendal, of all the people living in Riverwood, go get your treasured claw?!"

"Yes," Lucan sneered, giving her a firm glare that made her narrow her eyes. "Now you don't have to go, do you? Stop complaining: he's only an _elf."_

"Oh, really?" Camilla asked in a low voice, narrowing her hazel eyes in anger. "Well, I think your new helpers here need a guide: elf or not, _Faendal_ is my _friend."_

For a moment, Lucan looked taken aback by her statement.

"Wh... no, I..." the man stammered, face turning red. "Oh, by the Eight, fine! But only to the edge of town!"

"As you wish," Camilla stated, then turned and headed for the entrance. "This way, you two..."

"Yes'm," Faendal practically squeaked; Ula watched the woman head outside before following Faendal. "So, how are we supposed to get to Bleak Falls Barrow?"

"We'll have to go through town and across the bridge," Camilla explained, nervously dusting off the front of her rough-spun dress before lifting her eyes and pointing at the closest jagged mountain that loomed above Riverwood. "You can see it from here, though... it's on the mountain just over the buildings."

"I... I've heard tell of odd rumors near those parts," the wood elf muttered, heading off in the direction of his home. "I'll be back... wait right here while I go arm myself."

"As you wish," Camilla murmured, clasping her hands before glancing at Ula, who was staring up at the jagged mountain with somewhat nervous eyes. She hadn't really considered what she was actually getting herself into, and she knew she couldn't tell Kai or Svena what she was planning or they'd try to stop her. With good reason, too, since the girl literally had no fighting experience whatsoever: all she had was a bit of lightning Magicka on her side. "So... are you going with him?"

Ula blinked and glanced up at the woman to see that she looked extremely nervous: after a moment, the albino nodded and hooked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, please... keep him safe, and be very careful," the woman muttered, glancing up when the male came running back down the street wearing a heavy fur jacket with a bow and quiver slung across his back; he also had a steel sword buckled at his waist, and was holding another jacket in his hands. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I should think so," Faendal confirmed, handing the spare jacket to Ula; when she blinked at it in confusion, he sighed and gently slid it over her shoulders. "Put that on so you don't freeze to death, child... Bleak Falls Barrow is high up in the mountains, so it's bound to be extremely cold. We should be there within an hour's time."

With that, they started walking.

"Those thieves must be mad, hiding out there," Camilla nervously muttered, walking down the cobblestone road with a sigh. "Those old crypts are filled with nothing but traps, trolls, and who knows what else."

"I've ventured into a few ancient ruins before," Faendal admitted, shivering a little in dismay. "It was when I was a tad younger... long before I settled down in Riverwood. There are countless dangers, as well as unexplainable mysteries. It's said that some ruins hold powerful treasures, too."

"Really?" Camilla asked, glancing at him in genuine surprise. "Wow... I never would have figured you were an explorer before you settled down. That's actually kind of amazing, Faendal! Still... I wonder why they only stole Lucan's golden claw? I mean, we have plenty of other things in the shop that are worth just as much coin."

"Where did he get it, if I may ask?" the wood-elf inquired, sounding a bit curious. "Does he know who fashioned it? Depending on the sculptor, it could be very valuable."

For a moment, the woman's brisk pace faltered and she seemed to think about it: Ula cocked her head and watched as she tapped her jaw.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I have no idea where it came from," Camilla suddenly scoffed, glancing at them in surprise. "Lucan found the claw after he opened the store, and he never quite explained where he got it... he's a tricky one."

"Curious," Faendal murmured, furrowing his brows before he glanced at Ula and nodded to her. "So, are you ready for what may come of this?"

The albino instantly smiled and nodded, swallowing her hesitance and steeling herself: she didn't know what she'd just gotten herself into, but it couldn't be _that_ bad.

After that, none of them said anything for several minutes... but then they made it to the cobblestone bridge and Camilla stopped walking.

"This is the bridge out of town," Camilla explained, turning and pointing to the road ahead of them. "The path up the mountain to the Northwest leads straight up to Bleak Falls Barrow. I guess I should get back to my brother... he'll throw a fit if I take too long. Such a child... but Mara bless you for agreeing to help us, Faendal."

"I have only one question," the wood elf inquired, hefting his quiver of arrows before adjusting his clothes. "How will we know when we're there?"

"Well, it's a winding road up the mountain just ahead. You'll know you're in the right place once you spot the old watch tower," Camilla explained, thinking about it as she eyed the road with furrowed brows. "Once you get to the tower, head north... bleak falls barrow should be just around the corner further up."

"Thank you," Fanedal sighed, gently stepping forward and pulling the woman into an embrace; Ula's cheeks turned pink and she clapped her hands against her mouth in girlish delight when Camilla gasped and blinked like an owl at everything over his shoulder. "I promise I'll bring the claw back, safe and sound... if it's important to you, it's important to me... so, just wait here and don't worry about a thing: we'll be back before tomorrow morning, I guarantee it."

"F-Faendal..." Camilla whispered, hazel eyes enormously large; then her stunned expression softened and she returned the hug tightly. "Be careful, okay? Good luck... Lucan and I will be waiting for you and your friend back in the shop. Don't let anything bad happen. May the Divines guard your path."

And with that, she tore free of him and ran down the road, rubbing her eyes with one sleeve.

Strands of Ula's long hair drifted in the wind as she stared at the wood-elf's back: he watched the woman go, muscles trembling a bit... but then he squared his shoulders and turned to look at her with a calm expression. His face was aglow with desire... and Ula immediately sighed, giving him a small smile of relief. He looked like a man who had set his resolve in stone, and that made her feel comfortable: both of them were scared, and they both knew as much... but if they worked together, they could get the claw back and return to Camilla unharmed.

Of that much... Ula was certain.

"So," Faendal murmured, smirking at her for the first time that she'd seen. "Are we ready to do this?"

By way of answer, Ula thrust her arm into the air and started marching down the street like something from a comedy stunt.

The wood elf chuckled before following her, not even realizing it when the shadow looming from the mountain seemed to grow colder and darker.

They had no idea what manner of horrors had been awakened inside all of the barrows across Skyrim as a result of the Dragons' coming.

But soon... they most certainly would.


	7. Chapter 7: Bleak Falls Barrow

**Chapter Seven: Bleak Falls Barrow**

Halfway to their destination, Ula was glad that Faendal had given her the fur jacket: by the time they made it to the tower that Camilla had told them about, they were already walking through ankle-deep piles of snow. The tiny girl was baffled by the drastic change climate, but she figured it was only natural since the air was colder in the mountains. It wasn't really all that surprising.

"We should stay alert," Faendal warned, pulling an arrow out of his quiver and notching it before glancing down at her with a concerned expression. "If you see anything, be certain to give me a signal... aye? There are countless dangers ahead of us."

Ula nodded before grinning at him; then she jumped, since a pile of snow fell off a branch and landed on her head. Faendal blinked when she sneezed and shook herself off, then glanced at her violently twitching ears before giving a little smirk and waggling his own ears. The girl blinked and rubbed her nose before following him through the falling snow and straight up the mountain.

Soon, however, the light dusting of the flakes somehow changed into a howling blizzard.

Ula had trouble merely seeing her own two feet, let alone Faendal... it was a storm that chilled her to the bone. Ula twitched and clung to the Bosmer's arm when wolves suddenly howled nearby, sounding plaintive. The wood elf seemed unafraid, but he kept a firm grip on his bow, and once he even raised it, sighting down the shaft with tense arms. Because of that, Ula felt extremely jittery: she knew they were going after the ornament... but was violence really necessary? After a moment, though, she realized with an alarmed jolt that it most likely was since they were trying to _rob _a group of_ bandits._

All of a sudden, Ula was very afraid, and she didn't want to keep going... but she still did so, despite wanting to turn back.

Now all she could do was wonder when she'd lost her common sense.

Had losing her home and seeing so many people die in Helgen warped her point of view on what was dangerous and what wasn't?

That had to be it... she wouldn't have considered something so reckless otherwise.

Tall rocks covered with ice and snow started slanting out of the ground all around them the further up the went. For some odd reason, the closer they got to their destination, Ula began to feel something resounding within her breast. She didn't like it: there was an unfriendly feeling in the air, an animosity that resisted intruders. Above them, growing larger with every step, loomed Bleak Falls Barrow, and its craggy precipices were deeply furrowed with snowy canyons and fallen ruins.

The snow-stained black rock of the mountain absorbed the little sunlight like a sponge and dimmed the surrounding area, leaving behind only a cold blue veil of light.

Between the Barrow and the line of mountains that formed the north side of Riverwood was the cleft they were walking along: it was the only practical path on and off the mountain, after all. Her bare feet crunched in the snow in an extremely cold fashion, making her whine in silence and hop around the patches of snow. In an attempt to keep herself warm, she struggled with all of her might to produce fire Magicka: after nearly ten minutes of suffering, her feet sparked and started glowing orange.

Faendal, on the other hand, glanced at her bare feet and gasped in horror.

"You didn't take shoes?!" he whispered, looking at her with mortified eyes. "Are you crazy?! Your feet will develop frostbite!"

Ula merely pointed at her feet, then at his own knee-high leather boots, and sadly shook her head. He blinked, trying to figure out what she'd meant even when the girl started shivering. However, when it dawned on him, he looked as though he'd been struck by a bolt of lightning: his eyes were that large.

"You don't own a pair of your own?" he asked, staring at her with an unreadable expression. "Is that what you mean? You don't own any shoes?"

Ula nodded and shivered again, then squatted for a moment and warmed up her hands using her own two feet.

Faendal blinked at the sight, then snickered in total amusement.

"That's one way to warm yourself up, I guess," he chuckled, looking at her glowing toes with a quirked eyebrow. "You are a very amusing child."

Ula happily squeezed her eyes shut and pointedly grinned at him, waggling her long ears.

When they started walking again, the snow deepened and the trail lengthened into a dangerously steep path as it skirted the base of the mountain. Ula glanced up at the peak looming over them, but she was startled to see a majestic tower perched upon it. The turret was crumbling and in disrepair, but it was still a stern sentinel over the valley. Her mouth fell open when the snow lightened up a bit... because she was suddenly able to make out ruined arches made of stone.

They were absolutely enormous in size... bigger than any castle wall she'd ever seen, and more majestic than any tree in Skyrim without a doubt.

Skipping forward, the girl tugged on Faendal's cloak and pointed at the incredible ruins with enormous eyes.

His eyes followed her finger before taking on a somewhat solemn expression.

"That's Bleak Falls Barrow..." Faendal murmured sadly, voice laced with bitterness. "Some believe it to be nothing more than a labyrinth full of treasure, but only a select few know the truth. 'Tis actually a resting place for the warriors who died in an era long past. There are many barrows and ruins scattered across this world... but this one has lasted since its founding. Many ages ago, something happened up here and the area surrounding it was tainted. Hence why nobody enjoys living in its shadow."

Ula glanced away from him and gazed at the enormous ruins with solemn wonder: here was a tangible remnant of Skyrim's former glory, tarnished though it was by the relentless pull of time. It struck her then just how old the lands around her really were: an echo of legacies, tradition, and heroism that stretched back to antiquity was resting right in front of her_. _

The girl shook her head uneasily, feeling as though she were shaking off water: she was still mesmerized by what she'd just witnessed.

"I see something up ahead," Faendal suddenly stated, grasping her arm. "Firelight... it looks like a torch."

Ula followed his gaze and stiffened in surprise, since it did indeed seem as though someone was up ahead. She was just about to run over to the person wielding the torch to see if they had a spare one when an arrow sailed out of the darkness. It literally passed by only an inch away from her throat, sailing through the gap between her ear and shoulder and tearing out several strands of her hair in the process. The girl immediately wheezed in pain and clapped her hands like a maniac in order to get Faendal's attention.

Then she bolted over to the nearest rock.

The Bosmer instantly dropped to the ground and crawled over to her, mouth pressed into a thin line: when the wood elf pressed his back against the rock, Ula touched her stinging head with her lips locked into a sour grimace. Having her hair ripped out had _not_ been a pleasant experience, but she considered herself lucky since it was ONLY her hair that had been damaged by the arrow. Any further to the right and it would have pierced her neck. The pointy-eared companions waited with thudding hearts as a voice broke through the howling wind.

"Oi, I swear I saw somethin over 'ere!" a gruff voice snapped, sounding highly vexed. "It ain't the skooma!"

A muffled response wafted from somewhere unseen.

"No! It's not there, and I also lost the bloody arrow!" the gruff speaker snarled. "Since there ain't no dead body lyin' here, it was probably just a trick of the light! Shor only knows that storms like these can play a trick on the eyes."

"When I give the order," Faendal whispered, catching Ula's attention, "the two of us are going to run for the entrance. Stick close behind me and don't let go of my hand: I've been up here before, many years ago, and I know a side route to the Barrow Entrance that won't get us killed. However, it's highly dangerous."

When Ula swallowed and nodded, he pulled the girl to her feet, then tensed: for several seconds, nothing happened... but then, the elf jerked on her arm and the two of them took off towards the entrance to Bleak Falls Barrow. Ula's heart beat against her chest the same way it had when she'd nearly been killed by the Imperials: the realization that any moment the two of them could die had her blood pumping and her senses on full blast. She looked through the howling wind and whimpered when she realized that Faendal was literally dragging her around a small bend that barely concealed them from sight.

When they finally reached the ruin's monstrous doors and Faendal crouched down, she did the same: nearby, she could hear the bandits muttering to each other.

"Wait here," Faendal whispered, glancing at her with serious eyes when he paused right next to the enormous doors. "I'm going to take care of those fools."

And with that, he pulled out a vial, lifted his hand, and drank the contents before making an arcane gesture that caused his fingers to start glowing green.

Ula jumped in shocked surprise when the Bosmer unexpectedly disappeared, making her fall backwards into the snow as a result.

For a moment, she merely gawked and looked around... but then a horrible question struck her and she crawled forward, lifting her hand to see where he'd gone.

_Did he vanish and leave me all alone?!_ Ula silently wondered, eyes growing enormous with horror. _No! It can't be! He couldn't have abandoned me! R-right...?_

However, her heart flipped with a jolt when she felt two warm hands gently grasp her shoulders.

"I'm still here," Faendal's voice whispered, making her shoulders slump in relief. "I'll be right back: I plan to get the jump on them with this. I'm not a very powerful Magicka user, so it'll only last a little while... wish me luck."

Then the touch disappeared.

Ula curled up against the wall and shivered violently, burying her face in her knees as the cold wind howled around her. Everything up on this mountain was white and blue, since the majority of what she could see in the shadows no longer had any sort of warm color. The poor girl was freezing: she wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of a warm fire and go to sleep. Then... the sound of muffled shouts reached her ears and she stiffened in alarm.

Carefully sitting up, the albino girl slowly uncurled from the ground and poked her head up above the edge of the stone barrier she was hiding behind. Her ears twitched when she narrowed her eyes and tried to see beyond the snow... she wanted to know what was happening. However, the muffled sounds ended before they could really pick up... and soon, she heard an odd noise beside her. Instantly whirling to the side and looking around, the girl blinked in confusion when she realized that nothing was there. However, just as she started relaxing, a sigh met her ears and she jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"They killed each other," Faendal stated mournfully. "I had only planned to knock them unconscious, but they killed each other right in front of me... there was no trust between them. I haven't seen something so horrifying in nearly ten years... we should get going before this potion wears off."

Ula's eyes widened in horrified shock when the elf let out a shuddering sound and gripped her arm with unseen fingers.

She swallowed when he led her over to the Barrow Entrance... and together, they pushed the doors open using all of their strength.

Darkness met Ula's eyes when they slid through the tiny gap: the doors slowly ground themselves shut again soon afterwards, completely cutting off all the light. Wait... no, there was some light in here, she just wasn't used to the change in scenery after seeing so much whiteness all around. Blinking her large eyes as they finally adjusted and expanded to an almost impossibly large size, the girl glanced around and gasped in shock at the sight before her.

She was inside a collapsed ruin: pillars of limestone were bathed in pale sunlight streaming in from the crevices in the ceiling, and cobblestones were visible in the few areas that hadn't been completely strewn over with weathered debris. However, when Faendal flinched and shoved her behind one of the nearby stones, it took everything in her power not to let out a wheeze of pain. The girl felt his quiver bump her arm when he pressed against her side, breathing heavily.

"There are two more bandits ahead..." he whispered, making Ula stiffen in surprise; she instantly peered over the rock and spotted a small camp fire with cooking utensils strung out over it. "I'm going to take them out quietly... there's no need for bloodshed, and I know what I'm doing. In three seconds, I want you to hasten over to the pillar in the center of the room: can you do that?"

When Ula nodded, he took off at an unseen pace.

The albino carefully counted to three before hopping over the stone and sprinting over to the pillar like he'd instructed.

However, she paused when she heard a guttural female voice speaking in a thick Nordic accent not even six feet away from where she was now hiding.

"Are you sure it's all right to let Arvel run off with that Golden Claw?" the female bandit demanded. "It seems sort of fishy, saying that such an item is an old key..."

"If that Dark Elf wants to go on ahead, let him," a deep male voice grunted back, making Ula swallow; both of them sounded really, really big. "Better him than us risking our necks."

"What if Arvel doesn't come back?" the woman inquired, sounding a little haughty with the suggestion. "I want my share from that claw. I could care less if it's a key!"

"Just shut it," the man grunted, sounding irritated. "We need to keep an eye out for trouble."

Feeling nervous since she couldn't see Faendal, Ula slowly tried to peer around the pillar, but her heart nearly stopped when her foot slipped on a patch of ice.

The resounding thud echoed throughout the entire interior of the Barrow Entrance, and she heard the sound of swords being drawn.

"What was that?" the woman hissed in a low voice, sounding alarmed. "Did you hear it?"

"Yes," the man retorted just as quietly, making the albino's hair stand on end. "Let's go see what that was..."

Covering her mouth in horror, the fifteen-year-old frantically looked around and spotted the shadows the bandits were casting on the ground. Her ears twitched and she slowly began crawling around the pillar, heart pounding in her ears. She pressed her back against it and slid to the side when the two of them walked around the edge of the stone and looked around: she had barely made it out of that one... it was giving her gooseflesh.

"I know I heard something," the male bandit stated in a slow tone, making the girl press her head back against the pillar with terrified eyes. "Soling, see anything?"

"No," the female bandit grunted, sounding confused. "There's nothing h—OOF!"

Ula twitched when the sound of a crack and a loud thud split the air: almost immediately, the male bandit whirled around with an arrow already notched... but Ula could hear his breath hitch when he realized that he couldn't see the enemy. Her heart flew up into her throat and she clasped her hands, praying to all nine Divines—yes, she did believe that Talos was worthy enough to be revered if he could actually grant blessings—that Faendal would take care of everything.

"Who's there?!" the bandit barked, rushing over to his fallen comrade. "Show yourself!"

However, only a split second after Ula saw his shadow kneel down, Ula saw another shadow ripple out of nowhere just as two arms holding a huge rock came down on the bandit's head. Another crack split the air, and quite abruptly, both of the hostiles had been knocked unconscious. Ula shakily crawled out of hiding and dusted her backside off, wincing when she realized she'd gotten her new clothes wet with dirt and mud.

She already felt guilty about it.

"The potion wore off," Faendal panted, tossing the stone aside and rubbing his forehead. "Good thing it lasted until that moment... I was afraid it would wear off before I had time to incapacitate them. If that had happened, bloodshed would have been unavoidable."

Ula swallowed and nodded in agreement... but then, out of nowhere, it happened.

For the first time in her life, the melodious vibrations of life that had always been resonating in her ears fell still... and slowly, but surely, it was replaced with a pulsing sensation that rippled through her soul, making her eyes go blank and her shoulders tense in alarm. Slowly turning and facing the tunnel leading further into the Barrows, the girl shuddered violently since this sensation was somewhat familiar. She'd felt it when the dragon that had attacked Helgen had roared... this unidentifiable desire.

The desire to sing... to resonate... to channel Nirn through her being and let the world hear it.

Faendal watched with furrowed brows as the girl slowly and almost robotically headed for the tunnel that led down into the ruins.

"I'll assume you're ready," the Bosmer murmured, hefting his bow and notching an arrow with wary maroon eyes. "I'll guard your back."

Ula didn't acknowledge his statement... in fact, she barely heard it. The pulsing was drawing her, step by step, to its source: her eyes had become devoid of emotion, her face was blank, and she looked as though she'd gone into a trance. The pointy-eared acquaintances headed deep into the tunnels, one on full alert and the other not even realizing that she was moving any longer. However, when Ula rounded a corner and started to head down into the next room, Faendal spotted another bandit directly ahead of them and jumped forward.

The girl didn't even twitch when he grabbed her wrist, pulled her back against his chest, and gently covered her mouth.

The wood elf watched the bandit with a wary expression as he approached an ancient pulley-lever resting in the very middle of the room. His maroon eyes snapped to the crumbled statue resting beside the closed gate the bandit was eying, then gasped quietly in horror. He instantly covered Ula's eyes and turned his face away, for not even a second later, the bandit activated the ancient switch. Instead of hearing metal grating against stone, odd whisking noises and a bloodcurdling scream filled the air.

Then another scream... and another... and another... and another... and another...

Faendal turned Ula around and covered her ears with a grim expression, brown face turning extremely ashen: the bandit's screams lasted nearly ten minutes before they finally cut off with a gurgling whine. When the wood elf turned around, the man was lying on the ground with his intestines puddling on the ground.

"Acid darts," he muttered, shuddering and trying not to vomit. "These men aren't very clever... he should have known that all of the levers and switches in this place are rigged with traps of all varieties. Spike pits... swinging walls with barbed poison... boulders the size of village huts... and acid darts, the most common. Come, girl... let's deactivate the trap by aligning the pedestals in the manner they are supposed to be in. The Nords of Old were very fond of little puzzles such as these."

When he glanced down at Ula, however, he jolted and immediately stepped away from her when he noticed that her eyes were glowing with blue light. Her hair had also become weightless, somehow. Then he stepped back a bit further and gasped, covering his mouth, because it wasn't just her hair... the girl's entire body looked as though it had been submerged underwater. There was an odd mark on her throat that was pulsating with azure luminescence, making him frown in a serious manner.

Ula merely stood there when he headed into the next room and started examining a set of rotational engraved stones.

Then he started turning them.

"Snake... snake... whale..." Faendal muttered, panting as he finished hauling the last stone around. "Divines, I hope this is correct... I'm afraid of what might happen."

There was no response from Ula, although, the weightless effect seemed to have died down quite a bit: the glow in her eyes was slowly, but surely, fading away.

The ash-haired male hesitantly approached the switch and jerked it back before diving out of the way, landing heavily on the ground with his hands over his head.

However, only the sound of the gate rising filled the air this time.

Ula immediately started walking, stepping clean through the dead man's blood without noticing and leaving bloody footprints behind her. Faendal immediately turned bone white and halted, staring at the path she was leaving behind. The girl's beribboned white hair swirled behind her like a glistening cloud as she turned left and headed for a spiraling staircase made of rotting wood. Not breaking her stride, the girl started descending in a slow manner... almost, Faendal noticed, like a woman possessed.

He swallowed, not knowing how to react... but then a blinding violet flash exploded from the depths of the stairs, accompanied by a deafening thunderclap that shook the entire Barrow and made several of the stonework supports crackle weakly. Sneezing violently, the wood elf hastily hurried down the stairs only to find that Ula had literally slaughtered three Skeevers that had apparently tried to attack her. She was already almost to the bottom of the stairs.

"What on earth has gotten into her?" he wondered aloud, hopping down through the center of the stairs and landing lightly just below her feet.

However, the farther in they went... the more Faendal started to notice signs of something living in the barrows.

Signs that couldn't be ignored.

He swallowed a second time: the walls were completely covered in spider webs.

They soon found themselves walking through a few of them that had been strung out across the tunnels, but Ula didn't even notice them and merely paraded right on through. However, the two of them had only been walking for about five minutes when a fearful voice called out from somewhere close by.

"Is... is someone coming?!" a lightly accented male voice cried. "Bjorn?! Hakir?! Soling? I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!"

"Hold on!" Faendal called, pulling his sword out and hacking away at an extremely thick web that had blocked their path. "We're coming, so hold still. We're not your companions, but there is no need to fret. You may rest your conscience, since we did not kill them: merely disarmed them."

"What?!" the male voice shouted, sounding horrified. "Who are you?!"

"That is none of your concern," the wood elf called back, rolling his eyes as he hacked the last of the webbing away. "We'll be there in a moment."

However, when he finally managed to crawl through the hole he'd made, his face went slack: Ula, who slowly followed, froze as well and her expression twitched.

Then the glow in her eyes went out like a candle before a storm.

The girl's ears instantly flattened back against her skull and she rubbed her eyes, looking as though she'd just woken up from a dream. However, when she realized where they were standing and what was around them, her muscles froze and she collapsed to her knees... only to look down at the floor and burst into tears. She instantly leapt off the ground and smashed into Faendal's back, wrapping her legs around him and shuddering violently.

"What in Shor's Blood are you doing?" the elf squeaked, flailing around to get her off of his back. "Get off me!"

However, she only clung that much tighter.

Her eyes were frenzied: she had no idea how she'd gotten where she was, and on top of that, she felt as though she'd found herself stuck in a hellish nightmare. All around her were spiderwebs and egg sacks resting in gooey corners... they were everywhere, and on the floor were ensnared lumps and husks—presumably creatures that used to be alive.

"Hey, you!" the ensnared bandit called, flapping his leg to get their attention. "Help me out of here! Please! I'll make it worth yer while, I promise!""

"Get... off!" Faendal growled, struggling to pry the girl's arms off his throat. "Gods! Stop being a child and let go of me already! NOW!"

Ula gasped when the elf bent over and used the momentum to throw her over his head: she landed on her back and cracked her head against the floor.

However, as a result, their lives were saved: the moment Ula opened her eyes again, she saw what was crawling on the ceiling above them.

Mouth dropping open in horror, the girl let out one of her weak little wheeze-screams and thrust her hands out with a terrified kick of her legs: two lightning bolts exploded from her palms, lancing an enormous arachnid that had been getting ready to pounce on them. The girl flailed around when it slipped off the ceiling, then rolled out of the way and baby-crawled to the farthest corner in the room. Her ears roared black as she buried her head in her knees. She couldn't scream... she could cry... she couldn't do anything. She felt as though she were going to faint... the world was spinning... spiders, spiders, gods, how she hated spiders!

_Make them go away,_ she whimpered, rocking back and forth. _Go away ____go away_ ___go away_ ___go away_ ___go away_ ___go away_ go _away_—

When something finally touched her arm... it wasn't a spider leg, it was Faendal.

He was holding out a hand to her, and the giant menace was lying dead on its side with twitching legs and green fluid oozing from it's stomach.

Shuddering violently, the girl allowed him to help her up... but then, he turned and hastily whisked towards the bandit, Arvel.

"You did it! You killed it!" the dark elf gasped, looking at them with frightened yellow eyes. "Now cut me down before anything else shows up!"

Faendal merely scowled and whipped his blade up like lightning, pressing the tip against the dark-elf's throat and making him tilt his head away from it.

"Where is the Golden Claw?" the Bosmer demanded in a low tone. "Answer me!"

"Yes, the claw! I know how it works!" Arvel babbled, making Faendal frown in confusion. "The claw, the markings, the door in the hall of stories—I know how they all fit together now! Help me down and I'll show you! You won't believe the power the Nords have stored in there!"

For a long moment, Faendal merely leered at his face with narrowed eyes.

Ula shivered and watched with bated breath, not knowing what to expect any longer.

"Fine," her companion finally muttered, lifting his sword and hacking at the webbing. "Let's see if I can find away to get you down from here."

"Sweet breath of Arkay, thank you!" the other male groaned, sounding extremely relieved; within moments, he was able to move his arms... and soon, he started helping with the hacking process. "It's coming loose! I can feel it! Thank you! Thank you!"

Faendal sighed and continued hacking away at the webbing... but because of that, he didn't see the bandit's grin.

Soon, Arvel slid out of the webbing... but then he lunged forward, brandishing a dagger that neither of them had seen being clutched in his hand. Ula jumped away and covered her mouth in horror when Faendal let out a shout, but it was too late: the bandit ran him through, then whirled around and took off into the tunnels.

"Thank you!" the dark elf's voice cackled somewhere far off. "You really saved me!"

The albino's heart nearly stopped when her friend clutched his chest and staggered forward, collapsing to his knees and planting one hand on the ground.

He coughed... and her throat locked up with terrified tears when she saw blood streaming onto the cobblestone.

"Help... me..." he whispered, falling over on his side and curling into a ball; he shifted his gaze and looked right at her, maroon eyes glazed. "Help... my heart is..."

Blood was pumping through his fingers: Ula's face rapidly turned pale, and she lunged over to his side, focusing with all the willpower inside her body.

She rubbed her hands like Svena always did, then slapped them against the wound as her hands started glowing with a soft golden light.

_No! _she wailed in silently anguish, heart thudding wildly. _It's not strong enough! I need more! Please, heal him! Please! Please please please please please_—

Her train of thought went blank when a sudden jolt ran through her, and in an instant, a nauseous wave of agony enveloped her chest.

Head limply tipping back, the girl's eyes once again became devoid of emotion and started glowing blue; almost simultaneously, the golden glow around her hands shifted in color to a dark crimson, and the elf's wound began to heal of its own accord. Ula's hands started moving of their own accord: arcane flourishes graced the air above Bosmer's chest, causing his spilled blood to flow back inside his body. Faendal's eyes were dilated, and he was panting rapidly... but when the wound closed and his eyes rolled back, he was still breathing.

Still alive.

Then Ula came back down to earth... and she very nearly fainted.

Her body fell forward on top of Faendal's, but the smell of blood roused her before she could actually pass out: she dizzily shook the wood elf's shoulder, trying to wake him... but nothing worked. In the end, she crawled to her feet and weakly struggled to drag him over to one of the alcoves where the dead had once been laid to rest. As long as he didn't move and didn't make any noise, perhaps anything or anyone that saw him would think he was a corpse, too.

It was better than leaving him lying out in the open... because, sadly enough, she wasn't going to turn back.

She was going to keep moving forward.

After getting Faendal to a relatively safe-looking alcove, the girl shivered violently and hurried down the tunnel after Arvel. Her bare feet were silent against the stone as she darted around winding corners and twisting paths full of ancient corpses and cobwebs. Then... out of nowhere... a sword was swung at her from around a corner. The girl's knees buckled before her mind could react: still running, her body bent itself backwards and she practically crushed her own spine when she hit the ground.

"Damn!" Arvel hissed, swiping at her again; the girl flopped on her side in a clumsy dodge and scrambled back to her feet, backing away from him and pressing herself against the wall. "Your friend was a fool, little girl! Why should I share the treasure with anyone?! The claw is mine now, and since I murdered your little pal, I figure it's your turn."

Ula, however, was no longer looking at him.

She was looking behind him with an open mouth and enormous pink eyes. Her ears had stuck straight out, her already pale-skin had become almost translucent due to the blood draining from her face, and her limbs had started shaking. Arvel sneered in a cocky manner, obviously thinking it was him she was afraid of... but he was so wrong. So very, very wrong. One of the corpses lying in its resting place had twitched and flicked its eyes open. Ula jumped when it sat up and jerkily lifted her hand, frantically pointing over the elf's shoulder with a horrified expression.

"What's this?" he sneered, not seeing the mummified corpse that was approaching him from behind. "Trying to distract me so you can get away?"

The girl frantically shook her head and jumped up and down in horror, flailing at the mummy behind him with her eyes bugging out of her head.

"I'm not falling for that," he sneered, taking a step towards her. "Don't mock me, little girl... I'm smarter than you—"

He never finished his sentence... nor took another step.

A horrible squelching noise suddenly split the air, and Arvel twitched, mouth opening and closing as the blood ran down his forehead. Ula drew in a deep breath and let out a wheeze-scream, covering her mouth with both hands and eyes that had abruptly become full of terrified tears. The girl slowly lifted her eyes from the sword that had cleaved the elf's skull to the creature that had been holding it... and in an instant, her blood turned to ice and she locked up in fright.

_The dead are walking,_ she whispered in silent horror, pressing herself against the wall with hunched shoulders as a set of glowing blue eyes locked onto her face. _Gods above... dead people are walking! The dead have come back to life! What in the name of Mara is going on here?! _

She had no more time for questions that couldn't be answered: lifting her hands, the girl released an explosion of lightning Magicka that blasted the mummified corpse off it's feet. The head broke off when it smashed against the wall, but when the girl whirled around, she found herself facing two more of them. Her eyes instantly flew open wide and she lifted her hands, focusing her mind and sending more Magicka erupting from her palms.

The undead went down... then started getting back up.

_EEEK! NONONONONONO! _the girl silently wailed, hair bristling up around her ears; after three more attempts at killing the creatures with no result, the poor girl threw her hands in the air and ran past them at top speed. _NOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! NOOOO! FAENDAL, WAKE UP!_ _HURRY!_

She nearly burst into tears all over again when she heard undead growls and crunching footsteps behind her.

But then... all of a sudden... the girl stepped on a platform she hadn't seen.

Ula's mind went blank with horror when she saw the spike wall swinging at her.

There was no way for her to avoid it.

She was going to die.

_Someone,_ the girl whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as the world slowed down. _Help me..._

Her long hair and white dress slowly billowed around as she tried to skid to a halt and dodge, feet skidding across the ground.

_Help me..._

Her body slowly twisted as she curled herself away from the spikes, trying to prevent herself from being speared.

_Help me!_

Her mouth opened in a silent scream, large eyes widening as the spikes came roaring at her.

_HELP MEEEEEE!_

And then... at the last possible second... help came in what could only be described as an ironic miracle.

**"Fus..."** a mummy's gravelly voice hissed, seeming to echo all around her. **"ROH DAH!"**

The blue wave of energy smashed into her body, knocking her so hard into the mummies who'd been chasing her that she smashed them into pieces. The spike wall smashed against the stone as she slid to a halt only a foot from the other end of the tunnel, then slowly retracted and resumed it's original spot. The girl clutched her chest and her head thumped against the ground, breathing hard with her heart hammering up her throat.

Her entire body was shaking.

She had almost died... it had been sheer luck that she'd lived through that.

Speaking of which... when she glanced up, she spotted another undead mummy stalking towards her.

Tiredly lifting a hand, the girl pointed her finger at its head and conjured another lightning bolt.

With a flash and a bang, the now-decapitated mummy dropped to its knees and fell flat on the ground, still trying to walk forward.

Then the girl let her head thump back down against the ground, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep right there and pretend it was all a horrid nightmare.

However, she wasn't that nuts, which was kind of a pity since she seriously wanted to do it.

After catching her breath and slowly crawling to her knees, the girl slowly crawled over to Arvel's corpse and started searching the pack he'd strapped onto his back. She found the golden claw inside it, safe and sound... but right next to it, she saw a journal and blinked, frowning in confusion. After a moment of thought, the girl carefully removed the journal and flipped it open, wondering about what sort of thing a bandit might have written in it. What she saw startled her: there was only one page, front and back, that had been filled.

_'My fingers are trembling,' _Ula silently read_, _slowly calming down thanks to the familiar act._ 'The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow. Now I just need to get to the hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says that there is a test the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but they also say this: 'when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands."'_

There was nothing else written: the girl flipped through the entire thing just to make sure.

However, she slowly lifted her head when that pulsing sensation swept through her... coaxing her to keep moving forward.

She didn't want to... but somehow, deep within the marrow of her bones... nay, even deeper than that... she knew something here was calling her.

Something was waiting for her, and her alone, just beyond the end of this labyrinth.

She felt it... it was almost as if she'd known it all along.

Against her better judgement, the girl stuffed the golden claw and the journal back inside the bandit's pack and slid it off his limp arms. Then, after slinging the backpack over her own shoulders, Ula swallowed fearfully and steadied herself. With bated breath... she took her first step forward... then her second... and her third.

She didn't stop after that: she didn't look back.

All she could do was move forward, ducking around certain unfamiliar areas almost as if she'd done it a thousand times before.

Something was calling her.

Something powerful.

And she was going to find it no matter what.


	8. Chapter 8: Memory Trigger

**Chapter Eight: Memory Trigger**

Ula's determination to keep moving forward was nearly snuffed out after she was very nearly sliced into pieces by another trap.

Shockingly, an entire corridor's worth of swinging axes were set into motion this time: if it hadn't been for her catlike reflexes and her abnormal flexibility, she would have been killed in an instant. It was only thanks to one of the walking mummies' clumsiness that she survived: she'd seen it fall over after stepping on a stone that had sunk completely out of sight. After dodging five pendulums of death and blasting the mummy with a bolt of lightning Magicka, Ula leapt out of harm's way and fell against the wall with shaking muscles. Her eyes had gone blank with horror and she seemed to have gone clean into shock.

Several moments passed where nothing happened... but then she sank down to her knees.

_I hate tombs! _the girl silently wailed, hugging herself and shivering violently with terror-stricken eyes; tears streamed down her cheeks as she trembled. _I hate this place! I hate it! I just want to get out of here! Wait... no... not yet, there's something I need to do, I can feel it. Don't think, just walk. Keep walking.  
_

Slowly and shakily rubbing her eyes, the girl shakily stood back up and started making her way down the endless labyrinths. As she walked, however, that pulsing sensation once again overwhelmed her, and the mark on her throat began burning brightly. She felt lighter with each step she took, and soon, she managed to find her way into a ruined burial chamber. The girl instantly turned to the right and headed for the gate that had collapsed on itself.

Just as she was about to yank on the chain that opened it, a loud crash exploded from somewhere behind her.

The girl instantly whirled around with her heart practically throbbing out of her throat from the fright... but then, she had a fit of extreme hysteria, because an enormous mummy with spiked black armor and glowing blue eyes was stepping out of its coffin. The girl twitched and started shaking when she realized that the monstrosity was dragging a great sword behind it.

Lifting her hands with a terrified wheeze-scream, the girl let loose two bolts of magicka.

The walking corpse staggered, then continued walking towards her, sword dragging across the ancient quarry stone.

Pupils contracting, the tiny girl drew her arms back and started hurling bolts of lightning at the creature, hair standing on end and ears sticking straight out: after the first initial stumble, the horrid creature didn't even twitch and merely kept moving. Slow... precise... it was going to kill her. Not because she was any sort of threat, which she probably was with magicka like hers, but because she was the only living thing within seeing distance. Ula's ears pulled back and flattened down against the side of her head when the mummy slowly raised its sword: she could hear its bones creaking beneath the ancient armor, most likely from the strain of holding the weapon.

Then she got an idea, and her heart skipped a beat as hope flooded through her.

With a snarl, the blade came down... but Ula leapt to the side just in the nick of time.

Twisting her body like a cat's and lifting her left arm as she fell, the girl's eyes sharpened on the mummy's joints and she channeled a concussive lightning bolt out of her palm, using her right arm as a stabilizer for a precise shot. The electricity lanced the creature's head and took it clean off, sending it rolling across the ground: the decapitated torso immediately fell over and attempted to continue walking.

Then it slowly began to dissolve with a glittering blue light, turning to ashes before her very eyes.

Shakily getting to her feet, the girl dusted her backside off and tiptoed over to the pile of dust that lay scattered across the stone floor. She blinked several times and patted her chest in an attempt to slow her racing heart down: she felt dazed and detached for some reason, almost as if her fear had gone away or something else had smothered it out of her consciousness.

Muscles shaking, the girl jerked on the chain and stepped back when the gate clanked loudly, groaning as the ancient hidden cogs hauled it upward.

Weakly, the girl stumbled her way through it and made her way across several uneven tunnels. She made it through a cave like space and even forded a small underground river by hopping some useful stones... but then, she found herself heading towards another lighted area and twitched in surprise when she felt something rising up from her subconscious. Panting heavily, the tiny girl made her way towards the giant stone doors ahead of her and eyed them in confusion. Above them was an ancient script that seemed to flash and flicker in front of her eyes.

Ula swayed and her irises glazed over when a sudden rush of images flooded into her mind.

Millions of them.

She saw the same place... the same words... the same doors... but in each memory, she was looking at them through someone else's eyes.

Then she came back to her senses and blinked away the visions behind her eyes.

_I've done this before,_ Ula stated silently, somehow not even questioning her sudden feeling. _I've been here before... this isn't normal. Something's wrong._

Despite her urge to turn back, however, the girl hesitantly stepped forward and threw her weight against one of the doors. She struggled and heaved with all her might, and slowly... the mammoth-sized construct began to move, inch by inch, until it was wide enough for her to move through. After wriggling her way through it, the girl continued through the maze, but she had another good scare when more axe-traps came raining down on one of the corridors.

But then... she came to a set of ancient, rotting, and absolutely revolting wooden doors.

She didn't even need to push them open: one touch and they fell to the ground in pieces... but ahead of them was a hall that seemed to have been untouched by the hand of time. Blinking rapidly in shock, the girl slowly stepped forward and looked around in awe at the carvings that had been engraved onto the stones around her. She stared at them, marveling at how beautiful they were... and slowly, she made her way towards the wall at the end of the ancient walkway.

However, after a moment, something about the carvings caught her eye and she paused.

All of the carvings on each wall looked exactly alike... aside from the beings resting in the center.

_Three warriors facing the God... two eagles facing away from the god,_ the girl pondered, frowning as she stepped forward; after hooking a strand of hair behind her pointy ear, the girl glanced at each carving resting in the very epicenter of the murals and blinked. She had been correct: the beings that had been carved into the center were all winged, and they had all been portrayed as wearing the same garb... but their faces were fundamentally different.

For example: one had closed eyes that tilted upwards, while another had open eyes that slanted downwards.

All of them had different noses and different beards.

The girl cocked her head in perplexity, then glanced towards the wall at the end of the corridor, which had the oddest markings of all.

Slowly making her way forward, the girl examined the engraved stone resting in front of her with a stunned expression.

Amongst the swirling patterns, there were three circular ridges, each with an animal engraved on it: a dragonfly, an owl, and a bear.

Below the rings was an iron metalwork disk with three holes and the imprinted bones of a dragon's claw.

After fingering the metalwork and eying the ridges for several minutes, the girl's finger brushed against the bear pendent... and the entire ridge let out a thunking noise that shook the entire wall. Ula jumped back and watched with a wary expression as the stone began to slide, moving slowly and roughly until another carving had taken its place. The poor girl was immediately baffled.

_What is this thing?_ she wondered, blinking violently in dismay; then Arvel's words came back and she froze. _No... it can't be..._

Instantly shrugging off the pilfered backpack, the girl grabbed the claw and lifted it up, holding it flush with the center pieces of the wall. Her eyes widened when she realized that the placements for the structure fit perfectly, and against her better judgement, she hesitantly slid the golden claw's talons into the slats.

The door immediately jolted.

For several moments, hidden gears turned within the walls... but then they fell still.

_Okay... now would be the time for thinking, _Ula muttered silently, sitting down in front of the doors and folding her arms. _How am I supposed to get this thing open? It's not a wall, that much is certain... but if it truly is a door, why isn't the key working? Perhaps the clue is a riddle... 'when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands'? _

Thinking it over, the girl glanced down at the claw itself... but then her stomach flopped and her eyes bugged out of her skull.

Flipping the key around, she saw that a pattern of animals had been engraved onto the palm of the claw: bear, dragonfly, owl.

Instantly leaping to her feet, the girl stood on her tiptoes and tapped the door like a wildfire, dancing from foot to foot. Once the correct symbols were in place, the girl put the claw back inside and twisted it before pulling back out. However, she immediately jumped away since the reaction was instantaneous: all three circular ridges spun around at a rapid pace, moving in opposite directions before coming to an abnormal halt.

Once all three owls were lined up in a row, the door jolted and let loose an explosion of dust.

Ula's amethyst eyes widened when the door slowly began to lower, revealing an ancient set of stairs leading up to a dimly lit area. Within seconds, a gust of air whipped out of the opening, sending her hair swirling behind her in a cloud of white. In that moment, her heart jolted and her knees buckled, bringing the poor girl down on all fours. She could hear the music... there was music calling her just ahead... powerful music.

It throbbed steadily in the shape of many voices.

Slowly crawling forward, the girl made it to the stairs and hauled herself upright, taking one shaking step at a time until she was walking through an ancient cavern towards a brilliantly lit area. More images flashed in her mind... more memories that weren't really hers. With each step she took, she saw through more eyes, saw the fate of what lay before her. She slowly descended the stairs leading to the ancient wall... the wall in which her dreams were written on. Her eyes glazed over as she slowly approached the glowing word that called to her... the one creating the music... it wanted her.

The word wanted her.

Her eyes all but exploded with two beams of brilliant light that quickly shifted in hue from blue to white.

**"Thuum fin lok..."** the albino abruptly whispered, sending a rumble of thunder reverberating around the room. **"Soraah..."**

Her voice echoed for what felt like hours.

The closer she went to the wall, the brighter her body began to glow: the blue mark on her throat hissed into view and began to wind around her torso, slowly turning white like the luminescence radiating from her eyes. The ghostly wings once again exploded out of her back, and her hair reversed gravity, floating towards the sky and swirling around like a cloud made of silken snow. Then the light from the word engulfed her, dimming her vision.

More images... no... memories... she had seen this before...

A voice resounded within her mind... a human voice, one full of hatred an wrath.

"_Believers hearken to me!_" it roared in a thick Nordic accent, sounding full of satisfaction and triumph; she had a mental flash of a dragon with scales darker than the night sky being pinned down against the ground by men who were thrusting their blades into its wings. "_Twenty score men and seven thousand dragons have been slain this day! Heed my words, Alduin, and speaketh them to all in the next life, that they shall ever be obeyed even under the light of the proud and merciless sun! I shall bring down bitter vengeance upon thee and thou shalt suffer eternal wrath! An endless cycle of merciless death shall befall thee and thou betrayers of Man!"_

Ula clutched her forehead and fell to her knees, eyes squeezing shut with pain. The mark on her neck shattered as the sensation in her head intensified, shredding her mind from the inside out. She felt a tugging at her core, a sensation that wanted to rip her out of her body. Drawing in a deep breath, the girl planned on letting loose one of her pathetic wheezes in place of a scream... but instead, a voice that was extremely loud and horribly high-pitched exploded from her mouth.

The sound of it had the walls shaking and everything around her began to tremble, sending stone and dust raining down on everything from above. A roaring gale exploded around her torso, lifting her hair and dress towards the heavens: the girl arched her back, clutching her head as the tugging sensation grew more intense. Her eyes were large, but she didn't dare let out another scream.

Then... she finally slipped.

Ula was dragged out of her body and down through darkness.

_I'm dead,_ she silently mourned, closing her eyes as she fell. _I never should have left Riverwood... Svena, Kai, I'm so sorry..._

_However, then her fall slowed and she slowly opened her eyes, feeling more alive than not._

_She was in a strange place, a realm that waited beyond the conscious mind._

_The veil of unreality had fallen over her vision... almost as if she'd entered the clutches of deep sleep, and it was now obscuring the landscape of her psyche with a haziness that confounded her sense of what was real. And yet, the distorted feeling of the world around her also made the jumbled mix of images incredibly vivid._

_That's when she realized it: she had fallen right into a dream._

_To those whose dreams were for the most part unpleasant, this peculiarity was a blessing; a chance to explore a range of scenarios, some mundane, some bizarre, without the limitations and consequences of the real. To others, whose twilight fantasies often came in the form of horrors that left them feeling haunted even after awakening, it was a curse._

_Everyone had nightmares, there was no denying that._

_However, according to Svena... there were certain people whose nightmares outnumbered and outmatched ordinary dreams in sum and clarity. To them, the scope of the fear and dread and sheer terror inherent to these incredibly lifelike visions was such that they would rather not dream at all, if it would allow them to escape the torment of waking up in a cold sweat nearly every night from some terrifying tableau._

_Ula was one such individual: since the day she'd washed up on the shores of Darkwater lake, she'd had nightmares every single night._

_And right now, she knew was dreaming: the odd sense of displacement combined with the swirl of jumbled images could only be found in a place beyond the limits of one's physical reality. The mosaic seemed to bend and warp with every passing moment, until a disturbing red haze fell over her vision, as if she were seeing through a shroud of flowing blood vessels. The images coalesced into a lone scene that was startlingly familiar, even though she'd never seen it before. She was standing on top of an enormous mountain, and in front of her were two... dragons._

_She gasped, eyes widening as the image rippled._

_Yes... in front of her were two dragons: one blacker than the darkest of nights, and another one that shone brighter than the sun._

_"Hmm... have my words no meaning to you, brother?" the golden one ground out in a gravelly tone. "The Voice cannot be used in such ways. Man must win his wars without our aid: timeless are the ages in which the Dovah will preside. Man is but a spark to our flame."_

_"My brother, you are wrong!" the black dragon snarled, tail lashing clean through Ula's body. "The Mortals are slaughtering the Dovah and stealing souls left and right! If we do not fight back, our lives will no longer be ours! Paarthurnax, __they will destroy us_!"

_"Do not break the Oath of the Skies, Alduin," the golden dragon hissed, turning his spiteful crimson eyes on the smaller one. "We are all under the oath: those who break it are exiled. You cannot fight Man because I declare that it is so. I am the eldest. Obey me."_

_"You would bind me to such a fate?!"_ _Alduin growled, making Ula wince with a shiver_. "_What will be said of us in years to come if we do not aid our brethren—that we hid atop the Sky Rim like cowards while our kin were slaughtered? If there will be a fight, let us face it and not shy away! We are dragons! Even a god would flee from us! Yet here we are, crouching on a mountain like frightened rabbits!"_

_"ENOUGH!" Paarthurnax roared, sending the albino to her knees with her hands over her head. "YOU WILL OBEY ME, BROTHER!"_

_"I shall not! Blood will meet blood!" the black dragon hissed back, yellow eyes unblinking as he stared into his elder brother's narrowed crimson gaze. "Our wyrds—our fates—bind us, but try me not. I will fight to protect our kind."_

_"Into foolishness you fly," Paarthurnax warned in a dangerous tone, baring his fangs with a growl. "Should you leave... never return."  
_

_"If that is your wish, I bid you my final farewell," Alduni hissed, instantly swinging his long neck and leaping off the edge of the cliff. "Goodbye, brother." _

_Soon he was gone... and Ula was being pulled away, up into a veil of blinding light. _

_Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath as she was bathed in warmth._

Then she found herself staring at a moss-covered stone, body aching all over and muscles completely sore.

"Are you awake?" a familiar voice asked, making her heart skip a few beats; slowly turning her head, Ula was startled to see Faendal sitting beside her with a worried expression on his face. His expression softened into relief when she coughed and rubbed her aching throat, shuddering all over. "You gave me quite a scare... when I awoke, I thought I was dead, but then I realized I was still breathing and all of my faculties were in order. Then I noticed that you were missing and followed the trail you left behind."

Ula opened her mouth and tried to speak after remembering the scream that had come out of her mouth, but nothing escaped aside from a rather pathetic-sounding wheeze. Her ears instantly drooped, but after a moment she straightened like a wooden board. Slowly sitting up, the girl slid the backpack off her shoulders and yanked it open.

Faendal's eyes widened and he gasped when she pulled the golden claw out.

"You... you've got it!" he exclaimed, instantly taking it from her hands with enormous eyes. "How on earth did you... oh..."

Ula was just about to explain what had happened when the lid on a nearby sarcophagus exploded into the air, making both of them jump in alarm: the Bosmer's mouth fell open in horror and he practically squealed when a frightening mummified behemoth of a corpse dragged itself out of its tomb and hefted an enormous double edged axe.

"W-what in the name of Akatosh is _that?!" _Faendal stammered, instantly drawing his sword and dragging Ula to her feet. "A... a walking corpse?! This isn't possible! There's no Necromancer around here, so how is it moving?!"

Ula merely lifted her hands and shot two lightning bolts out of them: they struck the giant in the head, but instead of taking it down, it only staggered the beast and spun it off balance. Ula tried to conjure more of her power, but she felt so weak that she couldn't do it.

Then the two of them noticed the other two zombies approaching from the far entrance.

"On three, we're going to split up and attack them individually," Faendal suddenly whispered, making her glance up in horror. "One... two... THREE! RUN, GIRL! RUN!"

Ula instantly took off, but the giant corpse pursued her, heavy boots thudding and bones creaking.

The girl forced herself to go even faster, but the mummy rapidly gained ground despite her efforts; with the enemy almost upon her, Ula charged her hands with power, spun to a stop, took aim, and released two weak lightning bolts. The zombie didn't falter, and Ula's eyes widened when the corpse crashed into her before she could release more Magicka: they fell to the ground in a confused tangle, but the girl somehow managed to kick herself free.

She frantically crawled to her feet and darted back towards Faendal, who was trading fierce blows with his undead opponents.

However, her eyes widened when one of the Draugr's swords came down, for Faendal screamed and fell backwards with blood gushing down his arm. When the zombie raised its ax for the death blow, that same blue light erupted from Ula's eyes and she charged the undead assailant headfirst. The monster paused, then faced her before swinging its ax. The tiny albino ducked under the two-handed blow and clawed the mummy's side with her sharp nails, leaving deep furrows and ripping out enormous chunks of flesh. The zombie slashed again, but missed by a mere inch as Ula dove to the side and scrambled towards the entrance.

A few strands of her shining hair fell to the ground, severed by the weapon's deadly blade.

She concentrated on leading the mummies away from Faendal and slipped into a narrow passageway between two walls: when she realized it was a dead end, the girl slid to a stop and tried to back out, but the walking corpses had already blocked the entrance. They advanced, cursing her in their unintelligible gravelly voices: Ula's amethyst eyes flashed from side to side, searching for a way out, but there was no way for her to escape.

As she faced her enemy, images flashed into her mind: a blade being buried in her chest... being decapitated... having her skull cleaved by the axe... memories of other people who'd died in this same spot. At the thought of their fate, a burning, fiery power gathered from every part of her body. It was more than a desire for justice; it was her entire being rebelling against the fact of death—that she would cease to exist. The power grew stronger with extreme rapidity, until she felt ready to explode from the contained force. She stood tall and straight, back arching gracefully as the terror left her: she raised her hand smoothly.

The walking dead lifted their weapons when Ula spread and angled her fingers, precisely aligning them with her targets. The energy inside her burned at an unbearable level: she had to release it or she felt it would destroy her. Three words suddenly leapt, unbidden, to her lips... and the mark on her throat exploded into view, burning white hot and searing her skin with agony. Visions of places and people flashed into her mind as her eyesight dimmed and power flooded her veins.

It completely engulfed her body and caused something to change.

Ula breathed in, amethyst eyes going blank as the knowledge spread within her soul; she instinctively began filling up her lungs and tilted her head back slightly, looking blankly at the corpses in front of her. The swirling light soon began illuminating her body.

_"****__**FUS,**_" Ula screeched, channeling the lightning through her fingertips at the same time, "_****__****__****__****__**ROH DAH**!_"

The moment the last syllable left her soft lips, a thunderous concussion ripped through the air and a blinding white light radiated from the mark on her throat. It raced around her body in a spiraling manner and disappeared into her sleeves: within a nanosecond, the lightning lanced through the air amongst a wall of brilliant white light... and when it hit the three Draugr, the air resounded with an explosion that created a silver shockwave of raw power.

The force of it both blasted them off their feet and killed them instantly.

Ula stood panting in the empty corridor for a full minute before she looked at her glowing hands and touched her throat: the markings on her skin were glowing like white hot metal, yet even as she watched, the marks faded back to normal and she could no longer speak. The burning pain in her throat faded, and she clenched her fists in triumph... but suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over her: she felt strangely weak and feeble, almost as if she hadn't eaten for days.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed against a wall before sliding to the ground.

Once a modicum of strength had returned to her, Ula struggled to her feet and weakly made her way out of the nook she'd run into.

She noticed, without particularly caring, that her hands were shaking violently and her movements were jerky. She felt detached, as if everything she saw was happening to someone else. Ula returned to where Faendal had fallen and noticed that the elf was still lying motionless on the ground, which had her feeling worried.

When she hobbled over to his side, she realized that there was a long, blood-soaked cut on the Bosmer's right arm: the wound was bleeding profusely, but it was neither deep nor wide. Still, Ula knew it had to be either healed or bound before Faendal lost too much blood... and since she was so weak she could barely walk, using Magicka was probably out of the question. She ran a hand through her long hair, then tried to lift the man up; however, the wood elf's weight proved to be way too much for her to handle and she dropped him heavily back to the ground. Ula was shocked by her own weakness.

She looked up when the elven male groaned and shifted: Faendal blinked blearily, putting a hand to his head before he glanced at Ula.

"Did we beat them?" he inquired, blinking when Ula weakly nodded her head. "How are you not even hurt?"

Ula merely shrugged and continued dressing his wound with glazed eyes.

"Ow..." Faendal muttered, gingerly touching his arm. "Do you know where my sword…. ah, never mind."

After she was finished tending to him, the girl's eyes rolled and she weakly fell forward, slumping against his chest. He seemed startled, but when he realized that she was falling asleep, he sighed in dismay.

"We may as well rest here for the night," the wood elf muttered, glancing at the sarcophagus with unhappy eyes. "That would be the best place, if I'm not mistaken: I shudder at the thought, but I think it would prove safe enough and comfortable enough."

Ula didn't care, as long as she could set her head down and close her eyes for a bit.

She hobbled after him when he slid inside the stone coffin, then practically flipped inside it.

After that, well... to put it simply, Faendal had a better opportunity of waking the dead than Ula at that moment.


	9. Chapter 9: Life is but a Dream

**Chapter Nine: Life is but a Dream**

Silence filled the Barrow... but it was a cold silence: a soundless emptiness that could only be found the most barren of places.

Faendal shifted his position since his shoulder was aching a little, but he was much too tired to open his eyes.

Then he realized that the pain had faded greatly compared to the previous evening and forced them open to see why: however, the first thing he saw upon doing so was Ula's beautiful face resting only two inches from his own. Her large eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, but her white eyelashes were dusted with tears and one of her hands had been completely covered in blood. He blinked again and slowly shifted his head to glance at his shoulder.

The wrap had been removed and his wound had been healed down to nothing more than a scratch.

"Even after all that, she still had enough energy to use more restoration Magicka on me?" he groggily wondered, yawning a bit before closing his eyes and flopping back down again. "Divines... this little girl is one of a kind."

He was just about to fall back asleep when he shifted his leg and pain lanced through his calf: he instantly twitched and shot out of the sarcophagus, eyes widening and ears pulling almost all the way back. He looked around for the enemy, and even grabbed his sword... but then he realized he'd cut himself on a stone plaque lying in the stone coffin. He instantly frowned and bent down to touch it, but a shock went through him and he jerked back.

"What in the name of Nirn?" Faendal gasped, watching as a blue light twinkled around the tablet. "How odd..."

After a moment of thought, he glanced at Ula, but he'd realized a little too late that her eyes were open slightly and she was vacantly looking out at nothing. His expression twisted a little in dismay before he rubbed his ear: he was feeling a little guilty for waking her up, but she didn't seem to be completely conscious yet, so he figured it would be better to wait. However, when she lifted her hand and saw red, she turned her head and glanced at his shoulder.

Then she sat up and looked around, seeming to be extremely confused.

"Are you feeling better now?" Faendal asked, swallowing when Ula slowly closed her eyes and rubbed them. "If so, we should ready ourselves to head back."

The mute girl nodded in reply and simply sat there with her eyes closed: even though she was awake, her mind kept trying to pull her back into the dream world she'd been swimming around in, and she jumped nearly three times as she sat there.

"Um... you're, uh... d-drooling a little," Faendal suddenly stammered, biting his lip and awkwardly averting his eyes. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Ula made an incoherent gesture since she could only halfway hear him.

She was slipping in and out of consciousness: she could feel the gears in her head turning as unclear images made their way into her mind. They were all made of various colors, shapes, and sounds with nothing in particular standing out: these dreams were nothing a bunch of swirling colors that continued to mesh together in her head... only half-formed. She started twitching when she started having visuals of a screaming dark-haired man leaning down over her face... his fists smashing into her temples...

Ula's face contorted, shaking her head and weakly lifting her arms.

"Hey, are you okay?" Faendal squeaked, voice pulling the girl back to her senses for a moment. "If you're tired, you should just lie down again. I could probably use some more rest, too... I can barely keep my eyes open."

Even though he said it clearly, it still didn't really register with the albino that well.

His soothing voice was already melding away... and a screaming woman was in front of her.

However, she was blurry... swirling and not really tangible.

Then... more faces.

All of them angry... all of them roaring that it was her fault.

_No..._ Ula whimpered, lifting her hands and weakly trying to cover her face; she twitched when a dream hand flew at her. _Please..._

"Child, honestly, are you all right?" Faendal demanded, gripping her arm and shaking her; then he froze. "By the Eight! You're burning up! Are you ill?!"

The moment he touched her, Ula's muscles seized and she curled into a little ball. She couldn't even manage to let out a wheeze because of how badly her body had locked up on her. Faendal abruptly stared at her with concerned eyes... but when he set his hand down down on her shoulder to see how badly she was trembling, inhumane terror jolted through the mute girl's body, shocking her insides with an abrupt and unexpected prickling sensation. The electrical feeling ran all the way down to her fingertips.

However, Ula nearly had an aneurism when the dream came to life right in front of her eyes.

Then she was roughly jerked backward into the darkness by angry hands.

_She was back in her village._

_A redheaded man was screaming at her, the sound surging in and out of her ears as the world spun. Her vision shifted sickeningly while she lay huddled on the sandy, blood-soaked earth, desperately covering her head as she was beaten by the ones she loved. The silhouettes above her were roaring insults as the world wavered in and out: her body jerked every time they kicked her. When another man got down on his knees and started shielding her, he was quickly dragged away and someone began punching her in the temples, screaming the same thing over and over._

_"YOUR FAULT!" he roared. "YOUR FAULT! THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ULA, YOUR FAULT! WE'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"_

_Her heart practically exploded with emotional agony: she knew this face... this voice. _

_Chief Rain... Svena's uncle._

_The man who had taken her in. _

_Everything went dark even though her eyes were open._

"Hey!" Faendal's distant voice shouted. "Wake up!"

The mute girl suddenly shot upright, covered in cold sweat and breathing unevenly.

She was terrified.

Ula whimpered, choking and clutching her burning neck as the mark on her throat started glowing once again.

She swayed and stretched her hands out to Faendal's voice, but her arms closed on air and she weakly fell out of the Sarcophagus, too weak to even lift her head. She felt sick to her stomach, and her muscles wouldn't work right any longer. The Bosmer shouted something in a terrified tone and warm hands were suddenly being slid beneath her body. She slowly turned her head and glanced at the glowing wall as more and more images roared into her head. They were hurting her... she had to get away from the wall... it was a window to other worlds, not a relic of a time long past.

Somehow, almost instinctively, she knew she had to get out of the Barrow: she couldn't sense anything in this place.

It was a dead zone.

To wake herself before she could fall into another nightmare, the girl lifted her arm and girl bit down on the loose skin around her wrist, ears twitching and pulling back from the agony. This painful method had generally worked in the past to keep her from falling back asleep whenever her nightmares had gotten bad, but this one had been so much worse, so far beyond just 'bad' that she found herself crying past the grip on her arm.

Once she was awake, Ula finally let go of herself and retracted her teeth: her breath escaped in quiet sobs, even though she fought them back.

"Are you all right?" Faendal asked, drawing her attention to his face. "You're not... injured, are you?"

The eyes that were now staring at her were alarmed and full of worry, so Ula merely gave him a tired shake of her head.

However, right when she figured she had herself under control, her foot brushed against something and a brilliant blue glow roared up her leg. Her skin went icy cold and her stomach dropped through the floor when power surged into her, Jerking her foot back, the girl turned and found herself staring at a familiar stone tablet. She didn't know why it was familiar... after all, she'd never even seen it before.

And yet, even though she'd never before set eyes on it... somehow, she knew deep down that it belonged to her. She knew that she needed to take it. So, with careful fingers, the girl shakily gripped it and stuffed it into the pilfered backpack. It was fairly heavy, but she'd be able to haul it back to Kai and Svena if she tried hard enough.

At an rate, she had to get out of here... the Barrow was suffocating her.

"Are we ready?" Faendal inquired, watching when she tiredly stood up and hefted the pack. "Are you ready to get out of here?"

When Ula nodded weakly, the elf sighed in relief and the two of them stumbled around the ancient wall: Ula weakly followed him when they moved up a set of stairs that Ula hadn't seen the previous day. Then they slid into a natural cavern and hiked up the incline leading to what she presumed was an exit. However, Ula and Faendal were both confused when they found themselves face to face with a dead end stone wall.

Ula instantly glanced at him in confusion, but he seemed equally lost.

"Perhaps the old exit caved in," he muttered weakly, closing his eyes with drooping ears. "That's the only explanation I can think of. We might just have to circle all the way around in order to free ourselves of this place."

However, Ula's shackles rose at the thought of doing all that work a second time, and she had no intention of trying to run through corridors full of swinging axes just to get out o a crypt. So, against her better judgement, she shoved Faendal back a few steps and lifted her hands; she was just preparing to toss some lightning at the wall when he gripped her hands and forcibly lowered them, making the girl pause.

She glanced up at him in confusion, but jumped when she saw how serious he looked.

"Don't rely on your Magicka too much right now," he warned, letting her go in favor of inspecting the dead end. "The last thing we need is for you to drain your energy before the hike."

Ula wanted to protest, but since she couldn't talk, she settled for pouting at the ground.

However... that's when she noticed something odd about the wall beside her and blinked: there was a torch resting on a small, badly placed sconce. Thinking she should at least give the Bosmer some light, the tiny girl stood on her tiptoes and gripped the unlit torch with both hands before attempting to pull it down.

The girl jumped when the entire sconce ground itself downward automatically, and Faendal yelped since the dead end stone started moving. Both pointy-eared folk watched with large eyes as the stone began to rise, revealing the rest of the path and shocking them to the core. Once the false wall thunked into the ceiling, Faendal did nothing but stare at the spot it had seamlessly meshed into the cavern ceiling.

"Those Nords did a fearsome job with their temples and shrines," he muttered, leading Ula around several twists and turns. "I didn't even spot the seam."

The white-haired girl blinked when she and Faendal walked out of the tunnel and found themselves standing in front of an ancient shrine: it was ensnared by ancient bricks, and above it was a very fearsome carving of a Dragon's head. Dead flowers had been lain on the pedestal within the alcove, which also held a human skull, and directly in front of it was a withered flower wreath.

Ula figured that someone done this to honor the memory of someone who was now long-forgotten.

Then the girl turned her eyes away and followed Faendal as he headed for the light at the end of the tunnel.

The sunlight nearly blinded the girl when she finally slipped out of the shadows.

"Finally," Faendal groaned, shivering violently in dismay. "We're out of that damnable tomb!"

Ula nodded in agreement, then shivered under her borrowed Parka and let out a sneeze: her face was flushed and her face felt hot, but she knew she was well enough to travel. When a snowflake landed on her nose, she remembered that she didn't have any shoes and winced, not wanting to step forward onto the snow. The blizzard from the previous evening had blown over, but it was still snowing and the sky was grey.

Ula tried to make her feet warm up using her Magicka, but it wasn't working: she didn't have enough strength.

Even worse, Faendal had started descending down the treacherous mountainside without even noticing that she was falling behind, so the girl took a deep breath and decided to tough it out. Hesitantly climbing over the unstable, ice-covered stones and rocks, the white-haired girl followed her companion with a shivering body. Faendal turned around twice to help her down from places that had been difficult for even him, and when they finally made it to the road, the two of them started walking towards Riverwood.

However, about halfway back, the girl grew dizzy and started stumbling: she tried to keep going, and she even attempted to use a few passing trees to keep herself upright, but eventually she collapsed. Faendal only turned around when the sound of her body hitting the ground met his sharp ears.

The moment he saw her, however, his face drained of color and he ran to her aid.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked, rolling her over and patting her flushed cheeks. "Child! Are you okay?!"

Ula didn't respond; she merely lay there breathing hard with her eyes squeezed shut. However, her eyes snapped open when the Bosmer unexpectedly lifted her body into his arms and slid her onto his back. After he was finished adjusting her weight, he started walking again, ignoring the weak flail of protest she gave him. The girl finally gave up when his hands tightened on her legs, preventing her from moving them.

He carried her over uneven terrain and down several dangerous-looking inclines without faltering.

"We have to get you back," the Bosmer muttered after a long, lulling silence. "You're ill, so just rest until we get back."

Ula blinked and weakly nodded against the back of his neck.

They continued walking in silence: Ula eventually closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. She felt safe like this... and even though she didn't know him very well, she knew that Faendal would never let anything happen to her. Somehow, a deep bond had been formed between them due to the terrors they'd experienced together in the Barrows. She trusted him just as much as he most likely trusted her.

She only opened her eyes when she heard several familiar shouts of alarm.

"Ula!" a female voice wailed, sounding absolutely horrified. "Ula, oh Gods! Kai! Kaaaai! It's Ula! Someone found her!"

"Is she okay?!" Kai bellowed, making the white-haired girl lift her head and peer over Faendal's shoulder. "Oi! Is she all right?!"

"She seems to have fallen ill," the wood elf weakly admitted, "but aside from that, both of us are unharmed."

"What do you mean?!" Svena demanded, blue eyes sharpening in an instant. "What happened?! Where did you find her?!"

"They went into Bleak Falls Barrow," a familiar Nordic voice explained; Ula twitched when she saw the expressions of horror on her friend's faces since Ralof had just come jogging up. "I told you not to worry so much."

"Are you NUTS?!" Svena screeched, tearing over to Faendal and gripping his sleeves; her eyes were large and full of horrified tears, but first and foremost she was angry. "Did you really take my little sister into such a dangerous place?! The Barrows of Skyrim are absolutely dangerous, you idiot! They're full of traps, and pitfalls, and lots of wild creatures! Who in the name of Talos do you think you are?!"

"I... I'm sorry," Faendal squeaked, leaning away from her with large eyes. "Miss, I really am!"

"What were you thinking?!" Kai roared, joining in with the ranting. "Hand Ula over right now, and after that, stay away from her!"

Ula's pink eyes immediately flashed with anger and she pushed herself off Faendal's back.

Svena and Kai spread the arms, expecting her to run to them, but instead... the girl stepped in front of Faendal and spread her arms with an angry expression. Both of them halted, since they hadn't been expecting this: the girl merely shook her head and turned so she could tap Faendal's chest.

Then she pointed at the mountain where the Barrow was located and shook her head.

"What?" Svena whispered, blinking in confusion when the girl pouted at her. "Are you really saying that this wasn't his idea?"

The albino nodded before gesturing at herself with both hands and stomping her foot; then she folded her arms and looked away with an angry huff. Both of her friends looked stunned by what she'd just insinuated, but the rest of the people who'd gathered didn't have a clue what the gestures were supposed to mean.

Suddenly, a voice split the air, making the Bosmer glance up in surprise.

"Faendal!" Camilla shrieked, running towards them with her skirts hiked up; when she saw the blood on his jacket and his torn shirt, however, her eyes widened even further and she burst into tears. Without hesitating at all, the pixie-like woman shoved Svena and Kai aside and threw her arms around the wood elf's neck. "Faendal! Are you okay?! You're covered in blood!"

"I-I'm fine, thanks to the child who came with me," the Bosmer stammered, patting the woman's back with a bright red face and enormous maroon eyes. "I-I... well, um, we had a bit of a run-in with the bandits, and... if it hadn't been for her, I definitely would have lost my life."

"W-what?!" Camilla gasped, eyes widening in horror. "What do you mean?! What happened?!"

"I was stabbed through the heart," Faendal whispered, rubbing his chest with a wince. "Somehow, that girl saved me."

"Impossible!" Svena whispered, eyes bugging out of her skull. "That can't be true! There's no way she could have healed an injury that serious, because Ula doesn't know any _real_ curative magicka! She hasn't read a single spell tome for healing!"

For a long moment, everyone merely stared at her in stunned surprise, but nobody looked as shocked as Faendal.

"She healed my injuries several times," the wood-elf muttered, glancing at the swaying white-haired girl. "How is that possible?"

"I don't care if its possible or not!" Camilla wailed, letting go of the Bosmer and throwing her arms around the fifteen-year-old's skinny shoulders; Ula instantly gasped and flailed, but then she realized she was being hugged and paused. "Thank you so much for keeping him safe. I don't even care about that stupid claw anymore! Those bandits can have it... I'm just glad the two of you came back safely!"

"Oh, about that," Faendal chuckled, smiling a little in relief. "We actually managed to retrieve it."

"Eh?!" Camilla squeaked, jerking her head up and staring at him in shock. "Y-you... you did?!"

So saying, Ula pulled herself out of the woman's arms and weakly opened the backpack she'd taken from Arvel. Then, with little fanfare, she pulled out the Golden Claw and showed it to Camilla: Svena and Kai were both stunned by this point, and all they could really do was stare at the scene in front of them with large eyes. Camilla covered her mouth with both hands and stared at it with large eyes.

"Like I said," Faendal uncomfortably murmured, making the dazed woman glance up. "Anything that's important to you is important to me. I wasn't going to back down... so..."

Without warning, the beautiful Nord's eyes filled with tears and she burst into laughter.

"You silly little elf!" she hiccuped, throwing her arms around him again. "That claw isn't _nearly_ important to me as you are! I was so scared, Faendal! I was scared that you wouldn't ever come back! I thought you might die up there, and I... I didn't..."

"I'm fine, aren't I?" the Bosmer soothed, patting her back. "I'm alive, Camilla."

"Silly, silly elf," she mumbled, lifting her head and pressing a kiss against his mouth.

Faendal's ears shot straight out from the shock that went through him, but then his eyes glazed over and he relaxed. With gentle arms, he wrapped the woman in a hug and held her close, making Ula turn an even brighter shade of red. She instantly clamped both hands over her mouth and started jumping up and down in girlish delight. When the two finally pulled away from each other, Faendal's ears were limp and his eyes were so glazed that they seemed to be sparkling. He blinked several times when Camilla giggled.

"Camilla," he mumbled, staring down at her with a dazed expression. "W-what...?"

"I love you," she mumbled, pressing her face against his chest. "Don't ever be so silly again, okay?"

"O-okay," Faendal squeaked, face flaming dark crimson with shock. "I... I..."

"I know," the woman whispered, then pulled away with a smile and turned to Ula and her friends. "Follow me! You two have to hurry up and tell Lucan you have the claw! He'll be so excited!"

With that, she grabbed Faendal's arm and took off down the street towards Lucan's shop.

Upon entering, however, the man jumped in surprise.

"What in blazes?!" Lucan growled, glaring at Ula and Faendal when the walked up to the counter. "What are you two doing here?"

Without a word, Ula grabbed the claw and smacked it down on the counter in front of him. The man instantly gaped, blinking at it before looking up at them in surprise. He seemed unable to process what was actually going on, and for a moment he did nothing but stare at the people in front of him.

"You found it?" he stammered, eyes slowly lighting up with dismay; Camilla's eyes sharpened and she folded her arms, waiting for him to continue. Her brother instantly winced, since he obviously hadn't been expecting them to return. "Hahaha, there it is! You really did it! Strange, it seems smaller than I remember. Funny thing huh?"

"Lucan," Camilla warned, glancing at the pouch resting on the counter next to him. "Remember your deal?"

"Yes, well," the man sighed, finally giving in and sliding the pouch over to Faendal, "Take this, friend: I'm gonna put the claw back where it belongs. I'll never forget this: you've done a great thing for me and my sister."

"It was no trouble at all," Faendal murmured, voice growing fainter. "I couldn't have done it without the help of my friend."

Ula hesitantly tried to push away from Svena and Kai so she could step forward, but pain seared through my head and a swarm of black and red spots immediately began to overwhelm her. Before she could even blink, the girl clutched her head and swayed as her vision swirled sickeningly and began to fade. The girl soon felt herself falling backwards and landed hard on the wood, smacking her head against the floor without feeling it.

At the moment she was so dizzy that she didn't care anymore: all she really wanted to do was go to sleep.

Ula heard Svena and Kai shouting her name in alarm along with the concerned voices of several people.

However, only a few moments later, the girl went limp and passed out.


	10. Chapter 10: Remember the Oblivion Crisis

**Chapter Ten: Remember the Oblivion Crisis  
**

"Is she going to be okay?" Kai whispered, looking down at Svena with worried amber eyes. "She seems to be in pain."

"I'm sure she'll be better by tomorrow," the Red Guard woman soothed, shaking her head in dismay as she massaged Ula's temples with glowing fingers. "From what I can sense, she strained herself too much. I don't know what happened up there, but whatever she did... it drained her so thoroughly that it made her sick."

"Well," Faendal muttered, glancing at Camilla with unhappy eyes, "there were... several other things in the Barrow, as well."

"Like what?" Svena asked, glancing up at him with a serious expression. "Please, in order for us to know what's going on with her, you need to tell us everything that happened while you two were wandering around up there."

"It's fairly hard for me to believe myself," the Bosmer stated, shivering a little, "but if you'd like, I'll tell you everything."

And so, he did: he explained everything from turning himself invisible to take out the bandits to how he was stabbed through the heart, to how Ula healed him and how she'd practically gone into a trance. Then he explained how he'd come to his senses and followed the trail of traps that Ula had accidentally triggered, which had terrified Svena AND Kai so badly that they clamped down on the girl's arms and hugged her.

Faendal explained everything... even about the few undead creatures he'd seen walking around.

Then he came to the part where he'd found Ula lying unconscious in front of the ancient wall, and how her entire body had been glowing bright blue when he'd found her. However, Svena's eyes had sharpened intensely when he'd stated that the markings on Ula's body had resembled the ones on the wall she'd passed out in front of.

"You saw similar marks on the wall?" the woman demanded, face slowly draining of color. "That's... disconcerting. I've seen her throat begin to glow several times over the years, but until she touched the Mage Stone just outside of Riverwood, it's never stretched beyond that."

"That's right!" Kai exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. "I almost forgot about that! How the heck did that happen, anyway?"

"I don't know," Svena muttered, shaking her head in dismay. "All I know is this: the more I think about it, the more it begins to sound like some sort of forgotten Magicka. Perhaps Ula has been touched by an odd form of power? It would explain how she can do the things she does."

"Why don't you try talking to one of the professors at the Mage's College?" Camilla asked, turning with worried eyes. "You know, the famous one in Winterhold? I've heard rumors that the people there have answers for almost everything, so maybe if you take your sister to see them, they might be able to tell you what's wrong with her."

"There's nothing wrong with Ula!" Svena snapped, making the woman flinch backwards in surprise; however, after a moment, the dark-skinned girl closed her eyes and bit her temper back. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. It's just, Ula's always been this way, from the moment I first met her: there really isn't anything wrong with her. We just want to know what's causing all of this unexplainable stuff to happen."

"You're a good sister," Camilla sighed, eyes softening almost immediately; she slowly gave the girl a knowing smile. "It's so nice to see that kind of compassion between you two. Especially since... well, you know, not all people are so kind to elves."

"Ula isn't an elf," Kai growled, amber eyes hidden by a shock of his dark hair. "I'm telling you, she's not a bloody elf! Just because she's got long ears doesn't mean anything! She's not an elf, dammit..."

Everyone stared at him when he started grumbling, even Svena.

"You know something, don't you?" the Red Guard finally muttered, making him tense. "You know something that I don't."

For a long moment, the Nord was silent... then he lifted his eyes with a glare that made the dark-skinned girl step away from him.

"So what if I do?" Kai demanded, clenching his jaw. "Nobody believed me back then, so they sure as hell won't now."

"What are you talking about?" Svena stammered, eyes widening in surprise; she instantly leapt to her feet and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him back and forth. "What the in the name of Akatosh are you talking about?! Tell me!"

"Why should I?" the burly youth demanded, quirking an eyebrow when the woman froze. "You'd roll your eyes like everyone else."

Before anyone could respond, she slapped him in the face: Kai's expression, however, didn't change for a second.

"You know I wouldn't do that!" Svena cried, glaring into his eyes. "Spit it out, Kai! What do you know about Ula that I don't?!"

The burly boy's mouth twisted and he glared right back at her: Camilla and Faendal both seemed uncertain now._  
_

"It is said," Kai finally growled, making Svena pause, "that no one knows where Ula came from, right?"

"Well, yes," Svena confirmed, giving him a frown. "She just washed up on the shore of the lake one morning."

_"__Some_ people believed that she just appeared on the shore one morning," Kai continued, glaring down at his knees, "and _others_ argued that she came from a faraway place, using her appearance as the basis for their claims. There was a lot of speculation about where Ula really came from, Svena… but nobody knows the truth of it."

"Kai, I already know _that_ much!" Svena sighed, looking exasperated. "What does _that_ have to do with _this?"_

"It has _everything_ to do with this!" Kai retorted, eyes sharping in anger. "There's something you don't know about those events!"

"And what would that be?!" the girl shouted, face turning crimson with anger. "Just say it already!"

"Fine! Out of all the people living in Darkwater Crossing," Kai snapped, amber eyes glimmering with anger, "nobody saw how Ula ended up in the lake aside from _me_!"

Svena froze and stared at him with a startled expression.

"What did you just say?" the woman whispered, not knowing how to handle his confession. "Kai, what... do you mean?"

For a long moment, the boy closed his eyes... but then he clenched his jaw and let out a huff of air through his nose.

"I don't know how to accurately explain what I saw back then," he finally muttered, opening his eyes yet again. "I was only five years old at the time, so I can barely remember what it looked like. All I can really tell you is this: I don't think Ula is... normal. In fact, I don't even think her race is anything we've ever heard of. To put it simply, Ula fell out of a spiraling window that somehow opened up in the sky."

Everyone in the room went dead quiet... but then, Faendal started snickering in amusement, which made Kai glare.

"A window... in the sky?" the Bosmer asked, trying to hide his chuckles. "Well, that's very original!"

Svena, however, had turned pale and was clutching her mouth with both hands: Camilla instantly noticed her expression and frowned, obviously trying to figure out why the woman looked so horrified.

"Kai?" Svena whispered, looking up at him in dismay. "Are you honestly telling me... that you've seen Ula's nightmare?"

The Nord blinked three times in a row before cocking his head in total confusion.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded in a perplexed voice, not seeming to comprehend what he'd just heard. "What nightmare?"

"Ula's always had nightmares, Kai," the woman retorted, making his frown turn a little more concerned. "Ever since she moved into my Gran's house with us, she's had terrible nightmares that would wake her up in the middle of the night, crying. A few years ago, though, I asked her to draw some pictures to explain what they were about."

"So?" Kai demanded, quirking an eyebrow. "What's your point?"

"Well, that day... Ula drew two pictures for me," Svena whispered, swallowing hard before she timidly glanced at the unconscious girl. "She drew what I think was supposed to be a large, burning city... and above it was some sort of stick monster with weird blobs on its back. However, she _also_ drew a picture of a girl falling out of the sky towards a circle with swirls around the edges."

"What?" Camilla gasped, blinking as a horrified expression flitted across her face. "That's not possible! What you just said sounds almost exactly like some texts I once read about the previous Era!"

"What do you mean?" Faendal asked, tilting his head in confusion. "What texts?"

"Some old texts in the Grand Library," Camilla explained, waving a hand before she covered her mouth. "A large, spiraling circle opening up out of thin air... with light spiraling out of the center, and circular clouds swirling into a tunnel shape. That's the literal description of what the gates in the Oblivion Crisis looked like!"

"The what?" Kai asked, glancing at her in surprise. "What's the Oblivion Crisis?"

Svena, however, immediately went rigid and turned to glance at Ula with horrified eyes.

"She couldn't be a Daedra, could she?" the girl whispered, making everyone stare at her in horror. "Ula couldn't be one, right?!"

"Daedra are evil and vile creatures," Faendal stated calmly, seeming to be unaffected by the question. "She is the total opposite."

"But still!" Camilla murmured darkly, shivering as she sank down into thought. "We can't ignore the facts!"

"Um, hello? What is the Oblivion Crisis?!" Kai demanded a second time. "What are you talking about?"

"The Oblivion Crisis was a horrific event that created rifts between our world and Oblivion," Svena stated in a grim voice, making everyone look at her in surprise. "It's why people who use Magicka are either feared or looked down on: Oblivion is... in short, the place where all Daedra reside. The Oblivion Crisis was a horrible mistake because it created several gateways between this world and that one. Those monsters started coming through them and tried to take control over this world, and a lot of people died as a result of it."

"Exactly," Camilla confirmed, nodding when Kai and Faendal glanced at her. "I'm from the Capital, so I've heard all sorts of fearsome stories about the Oblivion Crisis. It was said that only one person managed to close the portals, and because of that, he was forever regarded as a hero."

"I don't think you should dwell on this by yourselves," Faendal abruptly sighed, making the room go quiet. "If you really think this is a serious matter, do the intelligent thing and visit the Mage's College like Camilla suggested. At any rate, I think I am going to retire for the evening. Let me know when her condition changes, please."

"We will," Svena sighed, returning her gaze to the girl in front of her. "I promise."

"It was a pleasure meeting you," Camilla stated, bowing her head. "Thank you for helping Faendal get the claw back."

And with that, the woman hastily followed Faendal out of Gerdur's house.

Kai, however, merely stared down at his hands with furrowed brows. He alone had seen the window open up in the sky when Ula had first arrived. Out of that window, Ula had fallen down into the lake... and later that morning, she'd washed up on the shore. The only thing he was certain of was this: Ula was not an elf, so she didn't deserve any of the treatment she'd been given over the years. She was the kindest soul he'd ever had the chance to know!

So what if she had pointy ears? In his opinion, they only made her look that much cuter!

Kai's face flamed bright red when he realized what he'd just been thinking, though, and he instantly rubbed his nose.

"We should get some rest, too," Svena murmured, looking at Ula with worry. "Gerdur, Hodd, and Ralof should be back soon."

"If you say so," Kai muttered, shaking his head before he stood up and waltzed over to his sleeping area. "I'm just glad she's safe."

The two of them fell asleep with little ease; however, the next morning, Ula unexpectedly woke up.

When her amethyst eyes finally fluttered open, she'd felt dazed… almost as though she'd slept for a long time and had somehow been completely unaware of it. Her tongue felt dry and full of cotton, her throat was parched, her body felt weak, and her hair had turned into an unmanageable silver haystack.

Ula immediately blinked since a feeling of terror smashed into her stomach.

She crawled out of bed and scrabbled into a corner, hugging herself and looking around the room with terror-stricken eyes. Then the girl covered her face with both hands and burst into tears. When Svena and Kai ran into the room, though, her tears froze in place. All of a sudden, everything came rushing back: her home, Helgen's destruction, the Barrows... she closed her eyes as several waves of nausea overtook her.

"Shhh..." Svena whispered, wrapping her arms around the shaking girl's shoulders. "You're safe... just calm down."

"Please don't cry," Kai murmured unhappily, kneeling down in front of her. "You've been unconscious for an entire day, Ula."

"Plus, the entire town is buzzing about what you and Faendal did for Lucan," Svena giggled, patting the girl's back when she pulled away with confused eyes. "Camilla told us this morning that she's giving you some new dresses to show her gratitude."

"That is, if you want them," a soft voice uneasily called from the flap. "I didn't really know how else to thank you."

After a moment, Ula shakily rubbed her eyes and stood back up; a disheveled clump of hair fell across her eyes.

"Oh, dear," Svena sighed, frowning in dismay at the girl's tangled tresses. "That's gonna take a while for me to comb out..."

"If you would allow me to, I'd love the opportunity to style her hair," Camilla hesitantly offered, making both Kai and Svena stare at her in surprise. "I used to be a stylist back in the capital... in fact, if it hadn't been for the war going on, I'd still be doing business like that. Some of my clients were nobles, too."

"Would you, really?" Svena asked, eyes lighting up in delight. "I would be grateful for that! Her hair is almost _too_ long for me to manage!"

Everyone started chuckling when Ula flushed bright red and discreetly tried to pat her tangled hair down.

"I'd be happy to," Camilla murmured, hefting a black bag onto the side table next to a stool. "Well, if you don't mind, shall we get you dressed up? If you'd oblige, you can go ahead and relax on the stool: I've always wanted to try this style on a woman with long hair, but all of the girls in this village keep their hair extremely short."

Ula hesitantly nodded and slowly made her way over to the stool, sitting down on it in nothing but her underwear and bra.

However, Svena looked a bit uncomfortable when Ula nervously glanced at her.

"She's never had anybody aside from me touch her hair," the Red Guard explained, making Camilla glance up. "This is new to her."

"Don't worry," Camilla murmured kindly, "I'll be gentle."

"We'll leave her in your care, then," Kai chuckled, gripping the Red Guard's arm. "Let's go, Svena."

With that, the two of them disappeared outside.

Camilla instantly started brushing Ula's hair pout with soft smile on her face: after a few tense moments, however, the albino hesitantly closed her eyes and simply basked in the sensation. Admittedly, she twitched a little bit now and then since the woman standing behind her unexpectedly switched to the comb to get the finer tangles out, but aside from that, she could almost pretend it was Svena standing behind her.

"You look almost like a princess," the dark-haired woman suddenly murmured, making the albino twitch and turn her head with an expression of startled surprise. "I've never before seen someone with hair as beautiful as this. Not even the nobles I once tended to had such fine hair, Ula."

The woman lifted her eyes and gazed at her pale pink irises with a soft expression.

Then Camilla sighed, pulling the top layer of Ula's long bangs to the side and braiding them in an intricate sweeping design towards the back of her head; then she did the same with the other side and put the comb in her mouth so she could grab a violet ribbon from her bag. Once she'd tied the gleaming tresses at the base of where the braided strands met, she continued braiding the joined hair down Ula's back.

Once that was finished, the woman move in front of the albino and made a few adjustments to her bangs.

Finally, she stepped away and gasped, eyes shining in delight.

"Wow," she whispered, grinning at the confused albino until her ears flattened towards the ground. "You look so pretty!"

Before Ula could react, the woman hastily ran over to the bag and started pulling a few more things out. Then Camilla turned around and held out the most beautiful dress the albino had ever seen. Ula's first instinct was to squeal in delight, but instead, she settled for a tiny wheeze: despite that, though, her eyes also snapped open wide and her jaw dropped in amazement as she examined it.

"I'm glad you like it," Camilla murmured shyly, smiling at the girl from behind her lashes. "It was my favorite dress when I was your age, mostly because it was pretty and extremely comfortable to wear."

Ula didn't care: it was still the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen.

The outfit had a ruffled skirt that ended just above the knees, but the inner arms were made of a skintight maroon fabric that would definitely cling to her in a pleasant way. Around it was a sheer, weightless fabric that billowed outwards from the elbow down. It was airy, and it gave the sleeves a profound amount of style. Also, instead of having simple buttons shooting up the front, there was a beautiful yellow sash weaving in and out of the openings in a crisscrossed style. At the throat, the yellow sash was tied in a beautiful ribbon, and at the waist it swept behind the back and tied into another gorgeous ribbon before hanging loosely.

All in all, the outfit was stunning, but not too frilly.

Camilla's hazel eyes widened when Ula unexpectedly stood up and lunged at her with outstretched arms.

"Oh, no!" she squeaked, flailing her arms when the albino wrapped her arms around her. "W-what in the world are you doing?!"

However, the sound of a barely audible voice made her freeze.

"Thank... you..." Ula whispered, slowly lifting her head; her eyes were watering and the mark on her throat was shining brightly, but she was grinning so widely that the woman paused. "Thank... you... so... much..."

"Well, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but…" the woman murmured, awkwardly unpeeling the girl's hands from her body before glancing at the outfit. "Well, um... let's just say that you're still severely under-dressed, shall we? At any rate, I washed and pressed the dress you were wearing after you returned. I'll let you pick which one you want to wear, okay? Oh, and by the way...? Faendal told me you didn't have any shoes... so..."

Ula blinked when the woman pulled a beautiful set of boots out of the bag: the girl's ears shot straight up and her mouth quivered when the woman smiled at her. However, after that, Camilla left the room, and Ula couldn't do anything but feel the amazement and gratitude washing over her.

She had shoes for the first time in her entire life.

Ten minutes later, the girl left the hut wearing the white dress that Gerdur had given her: she'd grabbed Arvel's old backpack out of habit, sadly enough, but only because the odd tablet she'd found was still inside it. When Ula arrived, though, she was startled since she found Kai and Svena talking to Gerdur about heading to Whiterun. She froze when she heard Svena murmur that they needed to warn the Jarl about the dragon attack.

In the end, however, she approached wearing her new boots and nodded up at them.

Then she knelt down and drew a picture of the three of them walking along a winding path towards a distant city.

"So, basically," Kai chuckled, glancing at Svena with gentle eyes, "you're ready to go?"

The girl grinned weakly and nodded, feeling the complete opposite but knowing they had to do something.

After all, she was the only one who'd seen the dragon attack.

"May Talos guide you," Gerdur sighed, pulling all three of them into a hug. "You are welcome to come back and work for me if you'd like! I'm going to be short a worker since Faendal and Camilla are heading off to Riften in a few days to plan their wedding and pledge their love before Mara."

Ula's eyes bugged out of her skull and she let out a series of wheezing squeaks before jumping around and clapping.

Her grin was so large that Svena was mildly amazed that her face didn't split in half.

"Divines..." she murmured, shaking her head. "I can't believe that elf worked up the nerve to take an arrow to the knee."

"Well, _I'm_ happy for them," Gerdie sighed, glancing at an infuriated-looking blonde man who was currently hacking away at the wooden logs in front of him with a fervor rarely seen, "but I can't say the same for Sven, though. He hasn't gotten drunk on the job even once since they announced their plans yesterday evening. Anyway, I have to get back to work, but... like I said, our home is your home. Thank you for everything."

"You're very welcome, Gerdur," Kai chuckled, flexing his muscles with a grin. "Working at a lumber mill wasn't that bad at all!"

The blonde woman laughed and shook her head before walking back towards her house with a wave.

"Well, before we go, shall we have lunch?" Svena cheerily asked, looking down at Ula's happily blushing cheeks with a smile on her face. "We're in this together, so don't you worry about a thing!"

Ula glanced up at her in surprise, all traces of her smile wiped clean off her face. With a shaking hand, she pointed at the elder girl, then at Kai, and then at herself before drawing a circle in the air and looking at them with a questioning expression. Both of her friends instantly shared a glance and laughed.

"Of course, silly," Kai chuckled, patting her head with a soft expression. "We're a family: we'll stick together no matter what."

Ula's face went blank and she blinked a few times... but then her amethyst eyes softened and she smiled.

The three of them sat down on a nearby tree stump to eat their lunch, or in Ula's case... breakfast.

But when all of them were full and satisfied, Ula walked over and took their hands in her own: Kai and Svena both smiled and squeezed the girl's palm a little in a reassuring manner. Even after everything had happened... and even after losing their home in Darkwater Crossing... Ula still had her friends.

After waving at Gerdur, Faendal, Camilla, and Ralof, who had all come back to see them off, the three travelers began walking down the road towards Whiterun to warn everyone about the dragon. However, they didn't know right then that the closer they came to the castle walls, the farther their fates drifted from Ula's. Nobody knew that the beautiful girl walking between those two happy teenagers might someday be pulled along by the stream of fate.

After all... this same journey had played out in over a million different worlds, with a million different people. And all of them... every single one... had either died in combat, or brought down the fires of hell by destroying the one thing that might have been able to save everything.

Alduin.


	11. Chapter 11: Alik'r Confrontation

**Chapter Eleven: Alik'r Confrontation  
**

"Wow!" Svena gasped, running to the edge of the bridge leading out of Riverwood and gazing at the stream with rapturous blue eyes; she instantly turned to Ula and waved the girl over with a huge smile. "Ula! Look over there! Fish are jumping out of the water all over the place! Ooh, and look at the size of that mountain! I can't even see the top of it from here!"

"Svena," Kai chuckled, looking at the Red Guard with a quirked eyebrow, "there's no need to get so worked up. This is a typical view."

"Typical?!" Svena squawked, bouncing over to the other side of the bridge and looking downstream with amazed eyes. "We've never had a reason to go outside of our Village, Kai! Aside from that trip to Windhelm a few seasons ago, this is the only time I've ever seen any part of Tamriel aside from our home!"

"Well, true, but it's still nothing to get worked up over," Kaikeeryn laughed, watching with soft amber eyes as Ula happily smoothed her dress with wiggling ears; after that, she walked forward and took Svena's hand again. "If we ever want to get to Whiterun, though, the first thing to do would be walking there. We'll never get going if you stop to gawk at every rabbit we pass along the way."

Ula let out a delighted gasp at the prospect of seeing more bunnies.

Then, with an excited expression, Ula snatched their hands and took off down the road so quickly that they stumbled.

She was in a much better mood than when she'd first woken up.

"She's more energetic than usual," Svena snorted, rolling her eyes in amusement when Ula let go of them and happily skipped ahead; she followed the girl with a watchful eye. "I wish she could sprinkle that energy on me... I still feel half asleep."

"I'm simply glad she can act this way after everything she's been through," Kai sighed, smiling a little as he watched the white-haired girl skip and dance ahead in a carefree fashion. "I still can't believe everyone's gone... it feels like a nightmare."

"I know," Svena murmured, smile gone in an instant, "but... we have to stay strong. Ula needs both of us, and we need each other."

Both of them fell silent when the white-haired girl suddenly halted and crossed her suddenly-wide eyes to look at a butterfly that had unexpectedly landed on her nose. She blinked several times before her eyes crinkled and she giggled silently: then the beautiful creature fluttered off of her, and Ula lifted her hand to try and touch it.

Sadly, it was out of her reach... but then, the clouds parted for a moment and the girl was bathed in sunlight.

Svena and Kai slowly stopped walking when a gentle wind swept through the grass: when Ula lowered her arm, her eyes had saddened immensely and she looked close to crying for some reason. After a moment, she clasped her hands between her breasts and slowly turned to look at them, long hair drifting behind her in the breeze. The Nord and the Red Guard froze when they saw the lost look in her eyes. For a long moment, something about her face seemed very, very fragile... but then, the clouds drifted over the sun again and the fleeting fragility they'd just witnessed faded away.

Ula, however, immediately loped over and clung to the front of Svena's dress.

The Red Guard blinked when Ula buried her face against her chest; then she wrapped her arms around the younger girl's shoulders.

"Ula?" Svena murmured, rubbing her foster sister's back with gentle motions. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

Almost immediately, a glowing light started emanating from the girl's throat.

**_"_****_Sora,"_** Ula unexpectedly whispered, sending that same rumbling echo through the air around them. **"**I am** _Sora..._"**

Svena twitched when the air vibrated, resounding with the sound of Ula's soft voice; then she looked down to see a set of desperate pink eyes staring up at her. For a long moment, the two of them merely stared at each other... but then, the white-haired girl's long ears began to droop and her expression saddened again. Svena swallowed before tapping the albino's nose, which made her blink like an owl.

"Ula," the dark-skinned girl sighed, making the white-haired one flinch, "you need to understand something. We love you no matter what your name is, and in truth, it'll be hard for any of us to adjust to calling you something else after years of knowing you as Ula. To us, you will always be the Jewel of Dark Water Lake. We love you no matter what, okay?"

Ula squeezed the front of her dress and buried her face in it again... but then, she sighed and nodded before pulling away.

When she danced off again with a little less pep in her step, Kai and Svena watched her with dazed eyes. In truth, her actions caught both of them off guard from time to time: there were moments when she seemed a lot younger than fifteen, and her innocence was actually the trait that everyone found endearing.

It made her seem very pure, somehow… especially since the world around them was so hostile and threatening.

Then there were moments, like just a second ago, where something in Ula's eyes would shift without warning.

They would fill up with an unidentifiable sadness and copious amounts of fear. Nobody knew why, of course, and in the end they probably never would: Ula simply understood things that others never even considered. However, when Svena's attention was drawn to the signs resting at the end of the bridge, her eyes widened and she gasped.

"Wow," Kai muttered, looking up at the immense amount of signs sticking out of the wooden poles; he immediately fished around in his pockets for the map that Gerdur had given them, and with probing eyes he scanned the names on the signs. After that, he made a note of where everything was and let out a sigh. "Sheesh... I'm gonna need to start memorizing every village and town we see if I ever want to start reading a map properly."

"That sounds like a good place to start," Svena murmured approvingly. "Just out of curiosity, though, how far is Winterhold?"

"See for yourself," Kai snorted, shifting the map and tapping the top of it. "Right now, we're just outside of Riverwood... but Winterhold is all the way up there. It'd take us weeks to get there on horseback, and on foot, it would take months without a doubt."

"Shor's blood," Svena muttered, running a hand through her shoulder-length curls. "It's a frightful long way off."

"Yes, it is," Kai confirmed, putting the map back into his pocket with a sigh. "Hence why we should get going and think things over."

"Well, okay," Svena chirped, looking at the two roads in front of them: they seemed to be heading off in completely different directions, however, and after a moment, the Red Guard bit her lip. "Still, since I don't know which way to go, I'll let you do the walking."

"Sounds like a plan," the muscular youth chuckled, rolling his eyes before he glanced at Ula. "Oi! Sora! Time to get going!"

The girl's ears shot up and she glanced at him with enormous eyes: then a grin split her face in two and she tore down the road with her hands in the air, grinning in delight. Svena, however, winced when they started off on the road to the right: she didn't really know if it was the right direction since the signs had been bent askew, but she was hoping Kai's decision was correct. Her curly hair bounced as she walked along the cobblestone road with Ula and Kai.

After only ten minutes, though, the cobblestone started fading into a dirt path and Ula's footsteps halted in confusion.

"Something wrong?" Kai lazily inquired, large hands interlaced behind his head. "Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"

"Probably because the road faded," Svena replied, rubbing her eyes. "I'm really nervous about getting lost, too, you know."

"Have faith in me," the black-haired boy sighed, patting her shoulder. "Even if I make a mistake, we can always ask for directions."

"That's reassuring," Svena sourly muttered, averting her large blue eyes with a huff of annoyance. "Anyway, let's keep going down the trail until we find another sign: the sky is starting to cloud over, and I don't want to get rained on."

"Well, as long as we keep going in the right direction," Kai grunted, hefting his pack before nudging Ula forward; after that, the two of them continued walking behind the tiny albino, "I'm sure we'll make it to the city of Whiterun before nightfall."

The two of them continued walking in silence after that, but unlike their slow paces, Ula was jogging around since she was actually feeling fairly cold: her arms were completely exposed to the elements, and as they trekked farther down into the wilderness, she soon had to wrap her own arms around herself just to keep warm. Svena didn't seem to be any better as far as the cold went, so she eventually ran over and huddled up close to her side. Kai, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the increasingly cold air despite the fact that he didn't have warm clothes on.

But hey, that was a Nord for you.

The three adolescents walked down the road for nearly an hour and a half before the clouds darkened into a misty gray overcast and it slowly began to snow: Ula looked up at the descending flakes with a mournful expression, wishing she'd been given a winter jacket instead of a few dresses. In her own opinion, pretty clothes were useless if they didn't serve any other purposes aside from making a girl look cute.

"You should be careful around this part of the road," Kai warned, stopping both girls from walking around a sharp bend that rapidly started descending towards an enormous waterfall in the river. "Gerdur warned us about this area: the ground is unstable, and many a traveler has fallen prey to the river."

"Shor's blood," Svena murmured, blinking uneasily before glancing at the ground in front of her. "Let's be careful, Ula."

The tiny albino nodded and hesitantly tiptoed her way around the mossy stones with Svena close behind; the two girls let out sighs of relief when the road finally turned and began descending away from the river. Ula looked at the scenery with mesmerized eyes as she walked, taking in all the birds that were flying in the air and the odd-looking squirrels chattering up in the trees. Quite unexpectedly, she came face to face with a deer after moving aside a branch that stretched across the road: her resulting wheeze of surprise caused the animal to bolt away and trot into the undergrowth.

"Did you see that?!" Svena yelped, looking at Kai with an open mouth. "Ula almost kissed a deer by accident!"

Kai's only response to their shock was to let out a howl of laughter that made Ula flush bright purple with embarrassment.

After that particular incident, however, the three of them continued through the mountainous forests, following the road downhill and observing the breathtaking landscapes as they went. However, the farther down they went, the warmer and foggier it became: Ula soon had trouble seeing anything, and she stuck close to Svena and Kai so the three of them wouldn't get separated in the mist. Then came the time when she spotted something in the trees as they were walking. Moving shadows… then the sound of rough, mean voices.

"Halt!" a male voice shouted, making the girls jump and Kai stiffen in surprise. "Who's there?!"

"U-um, nobody!" Kai called back, looking extremely on edge when two silhouettes emerged from the mist. "Just some travelers!"

"What are your names?" the first form called, stepping forward into view. "Speak!"

"I'm Kaikeeryn the Brash," Kai called back, glancing at Ula in dismay, "son of Ysvalan the Brave."

"I'm Svena Rossetti," Svena added loudly, then put a hand on Ula's shoulder before adding, "and my sister's name is Ula Rossetti."

Ula blinked when two dark-skinned men walked out of the mist, especially since their eyes widened the moment they saw Svena. Almost immediately, they rushed forward and grabbed the girl's arms, holding her in place. Svena squealed in surprise when their grips tightened, blue eyes widening in horror.

"Hey!" Kai shouted, amber eyes flashing. "Get off of her!"

Ula's ears pulled back and she twitched when he leapt forward and grabbed one of their arms; in the blink of an eye, the man Kai grabbed whirled under him and sent his fist straight into the burly Nord's gut. His amber eyes bulged and he choked, clutching his stomach just before his knees buckled. He went down on all fours and pressed his forehead into the dirt, struggling to take a breath and completely failing at it.

"Let go of me!" Svena shrieked, kicking her legs when the Red Guards lifted her off the ground. "EEEK! HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Ula's muscles tensed up in anger when one of the men clamped a hand over her sister's mouth, and with an angry hiss, she leapt forward and clamped down on his arm. Then, with an enraged expression, she sank her sharp teeth into his wrist; when he let out a shout of pain, the girl retracted her canines and leapt away with sparking hands.

"Get... OFF!" Svena spat, lifting her free arm and conjuring a ball of fire; the remaining Red Guard's eyes widened with a jolt of alarm and he leapt away from her. "Stay away from me! I swear, if you put your hands on me OR my family again, I'll melt your ugly face off!"

When the two Red Guards retreated somewhat, Ula took the opportunity to dart in front of Kai and Svena.

Then, with her sparking fingertips outstretched, she waited for them to speak. She wasn't going to let anything happen to the only hope she had left: out of everyone she'd loved, Svena and Kai were the only two still alive. Ula had already decided after traveling through the Barrow with Faendal that she would never let anything happen to them. They were her only remaining family, the only thing she had left.

"What... in the name of Akatosh..." Kai angrily wheezed, slowly lifting his head and looking up at them in fury, "is _wrong_ with you people?!"

They seemed extremely uncertain for a moment, but the first man soon move brazenly past Ula and thrust a finger in Svena's face.

"Listen, wench, we're on to you," he snarled, making the girl blink. "We know who you are, so you'd better come with us right now!"

"Excuse me?!" Svena snorted, folding her arms with a disbelieving expression. "No way, you horrid little skeever butt! I don't know who you think I am, and I really don't care, so leave me alone!"

"I don't have time for this foolishness," the man barked, brown eyes sharpening. "Come along quietly and we won't have to get rough!"

When he tried to take another step forward, Ula stretched her arm out and barred his way with a threatening expression.

"For your own safety, I wouldn't even think about trying to get past my little sister," Svena stated nervously, making the man stare at her with narrowed eyes. "Actually, it would probably be wise not to mess with her."

The other Red Guard paled when the mark on Ula's neck was once again illuminated, since her eyes started glowing bright blue.

"Brother," he hastily stated, moving forward and leaning close to his ear; he regarded them with wary eyes. "I think they're telling the truth..."

"I'm not going anywhere," he snarled, then looked down at Ula, who drew her lips back and hissed like a wildcat. "Back off before I do something drastic!"

"Brother," the other one whispered, gesturing at Svena. "She doesn't have the scar, and her _eyes_ are _blue."_

"What?" he asked, looking rather startled when he glanced Svena's eyes; then his gaze flicked to her chin. "Oh... you're right. Well, it appears we've made a mistake. Move along before these attitudes of yours gets you into trouble."

"I beg your pardon?!" Kai roared, stumbling to his feet with a red face and a bulging neck. _"You're_ the ones who'd better move along, you filthy son of a Jackal! The way I see it, you're ALREADY in trouble! Next time you're looking to pester someone, make sure it's the right person!"

"Don't trifle with us, boy," the Red Guard sneered, narrowing his eyes in Kai's direction. "Unless you want to live, that is."

The moment he put his hand on his sword, however, Ula froze and had a mental flash of the Imperials grinning at Lokir when they'd put their hands on their blades: another mental image of the man lying motionless with arrows sticking out of his back roared through her mind, shocking her insides.

Almost instinctively, the girl thrust her arms out with a terrified expression and a brilliant violet flash exploded from her palms, sending the two men flying off their feet. Svena and Kai both screamed in horror when they landed, because the electricity continued to explode out of the small girl's hands: Ula, however, looked totally shocked.

_I can't stop!_ the girl suddenly realized, eyes widening and ears sticking straight out in horror. _Oh, Gods! Svena, HELP!_

"Ula, calm down!" Svena shouted, leaping forward and wrapping the girl in a glowing golden embrace. "CALM DOWN!"

The albino tossed her head back and forth since the power exploding from her body had become uncontrollable: she didn't know how to make it stop anymore. It was literally just roaring out of her!

"SORA!" Svena shrieked, making the girl's heart skip a beat. "STOP IT!"

Almost instantaneously, the lightning exploding from her palms ceased and the girl's knees buckled.

"Gods above!" Kai squeaked, hurrying over to the motionless men and kneeling beside them. "Oh, Gods... are they dead?!"

Ula twitched and froze, heart flying up her throat.

She watched with blank eyes as Svena hurried over to the two of them and felt around their throats.

"No, they're merely unconscious," Svena sighed, shaking her head before looking at the decimated trees that had been shredded by Ula's destructive energies, "but still, that was a very close call. Ula, do you know what just happened?"

The albino girl fearfully shook her head and looked at her hands with stricken pink eyes: for a moment, she hadn't been able to control the energy skyrocketing out of her, and that fact alone had terrified her. She started shivering violently and swallowed, not even noticing when Svena came over and closed her dark fingers over her pale ones.

Ula looked up when the woman smiled at her.

"You only knocked out some idiots who were threatening us, that's all," the woman explained, lifting a hand and gently brushing a strand of snowy hair out of her eyes. "They'll be sore once they wake up, but aside from that, I couldn't sense any major injuries: they didn't even hit their heads. This isn't your fault... but I need you to make me a promise."

Ula blinked and shakily nodded, turning her head without breaking eye contact to show that she was listening.

"I want you to promise me that you won't use anymore Magicka until we get to Winterhold," Svena stated calmly, waiting for the younger girl to nod in confirmation; she held out her pinkie and smiled when the albino clasped it with her own. "I have a feeling that what you just did wasn't on purpose, and that... that's not a good thing. It's actually very dangerous, and you need a _real_ teacher to guide you through all of this."

"We should get going before they wake up," Kai grumbled, rubbing his bruising stomach when Svena helped Ula to her feet. "Okay?"

"I agree," Svena sighed, pulling them away from the unconscious warriors. "Let's get out of here."

Thus, the three of them continued on.


	12. Chapter 12: Whiterun

**Chapter Twelve: Whiterun**

It took a long time for them to get to Whiterun.

A very long time indeed.

However, when they finally made it... they were amazed at what they found.

After another four hours of walking, Ula came around a bend and froze for a moment; then the tiny white-haired girl slowly walked over to an outcropping of stone, pink eyes growling large and mouth slowly going slack. The fog that had been present for most of their hike was lifting, but as it did so… it began to reveal an enormous plain. About three miles off was an amazing castle with buildings stretching around for miles and dotting the landscape farther off: because of the layered development style, it was much more majestic than anything Ula had ever seen.

Shaking her head, she continued to gape at the clouds drifting around the castle keep.

"Shor's Blood!" Svena gasped, running over to stand beside her and gawking at the castle. "Is that Whiterun?!"

"Amazing, isn't it?" Kai asked, coming up beside the enraptured girls and patting their shoulders with a huge grin. "Yeah, that's the city of Whiterun, and the castle up there is Dragon's Reach. Some legends say that it was once built to capture a dragon."

"Amazing?" Svena whispered, shaking her head when Ula gripped her hand once again. "Kai, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen! It's even more impressive than the city of Windhelm!"

"I agree," the boy sighed, nodding with a pleased expression. "I've only heard about it through travelers who stopped at the Inn back home, but apparently, there's this rare tree in the center of the city called the Eldergleam, and it holds an unbelievable amount of Beauty. They built the city around that tree because they thought it had some sort of weird power."

"Wow," Svena murmured, glancing at him in surprise. "You sure do remember a lot of interesting stuff."

After a moment, however, the dark-skinned girl glanced at her gawking little sister and tenderly pulled her away from the outcropping.

When Ula tried to pull away, the elder girl giggled in amusement since she wanted to keep gawking.

"Don't you want to see it close up?" Svena mischievously inquired, sending out the bait. "If so, then let's get going."

Ula's ears perked up and she grinned, stepping forward and bouncing up and down with a lot more spring in her step.

With that, Kai led them back towards the road with a faint smile on his face.

"You sure do know how to get Ula's attention," the Nord accused, giving the blue-eyed girl a teasing expression. "I'm kind of amazed."

"Ah, be quiet, ya big lump!" Svena snorted, rolling her eyes before she noticed something ahead of them and blinked. "Wow! Look at all of those houses! Aren't those tile rooftops?!"

"Yeah," Kai exclaimed, eyes widening in amazement. "Incredible!"

However, only a split second later, Ula was literally sprinting down the road at top speed since she'd spotted the signposts.

Stepping up to the first one, the girl eagerly examined them with an excited expression before she turned to look at Svena. Then she pointed at the one that said 'Whiterun' with a giddy expression. The dark-skinned girl merely folded her arms and sighed in amusement, but after that, Kai hurried on and the girls followed.

When the three of them were passing by a fancy-looking stone building, Ula walked over to the sign in front of it and blinked in total surprise: it depicted a huge, buzzing bee-hive with an open door and enormous grapevines growing around it. She glanced around the sign and saw another one a little farther off, making her frown.

"Honningbrew Meadery?" Kai wondered aloud, glancing at the building in amazement. "I've heard about this place. It's famous!"

"I've heard that they make some very good drink," Svena chuckled admiringly, moving past him and walking down the road with a little flick of her curly hair. "You know, last year... I once tried a very potent blackberry wine and was floored after the first glass!"

"What?!" Kai scoffed, eyes widening in shock. "Svena, that's not good! You aren't old enough!"

"So?" she giggled mischievously, giving him a playful wink. "That's never stopped us from breaking the rules before, has it?"

"You got me there," Kai muttered, giving a shrug of defeat. "I was always breaking the rules when we were kids."

Ula flushed and shrank down a little when she spotted an enormous man in chainmail armor walking towards them.

"Yep!" the woman laughed, turning her eyes on the sky with a triumphant smile. "And don't you ever forget it! Now come on!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Kai grumbled, trotting behind the woman. "Let's go, Ula!"

The albino was currently trying to admire the river flowing from a dark grate in the walls of the city, but she figured there would be enough time to go sightseeing a little later on. She wasn't able to say it out loud, but the world around her was absolutely amazing: everywhere she turned, the Music of Life was resounding with a steady thrum.

It seemed to be coming from the castle, oddly enough, but it was so mesmerizing that she didn't even care. On her left, the girl passed by some sort of crop farm where several people were working; a little farther down was some sort of old-styled mill that slowly turned in the wind. Ula noticed that a house lay just beyond it.

"That's Pelagia Farm," Kai commented, looking at his map and flicking his eyes up when Ula bounded up to the fork in the road and gazed at the signs with narrowed eyes. After a moment, the tiny girl turned to look at the path that split off from the main road and stared up at Whiterun's entrance with an awed expression on her face. "We're almost there!"

Ula took a deep breath when she saw a man eying the three of them from his spot on an empty horse-drawn carriage.

His stare made her feel unnerved: he was looking straight at her.

"Do you think we're ready to go see the Jarl?" Svena asked, furrowing her brows. "I didn't think about it until now, but this might be a problem since Ula can't even explain what she saw. What if they don't believe us?"

"We have to try," Kai explained, giving her a firm expression. "Maybe if we explain the situation, we'll be able to make them listen."

"Well, it's a start," Svena sighed. "Let's get going."

After a moment of looking around, the girl took the Ula's hand and walked towards the enormous walls with the hopes of being granted an audience with the Jarl of Whiterun. Kai, however, had focused his attention on a nearby building and hurried up to them; Svena and Ula both turned around when he tapped their shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Kai murmured, shaking his head, "but I... I have some business that needs to be taken care of. Meet me at the local Inn once you've finished speaking with the Jarl. If you get lost, ask for directions: I'm pretty sure that the locals are a friendly bunch, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about!"

"W-what do you mean?" Svena squeaked, blinking when Ula's arms locked up in fright. "You... you're going to come back, right?"

"I promise," Kai chuckled, mussing up their hair before tossing Svena a pouch of coins. "If not tonight, then rent a room and wait until tomorrow: I guarantee that this shouldn't take very long, but luckily enough for us, there are debts owed to my father."

"Well, if you say so," Svena whispered, watching as the boy smiled and trotted off with a wave. "Be careful, Kai! And don't take too long!"

They waited until he was out of sight to glance at each other.

"He'll be fine," the dark-skinned girl sighed, mostly to reassure herself than anything else. "If it's about his father, I'm sure he will."

Swallowing hard, Ula turned her violet eyes up towards the walls of Whiterun: her anxiety had already spiked towards the clouds. One of the biggest reasons why she hadn't felt so scared was because she'd had Svena and Kai with her for so long. Kai was their source of strength: without him, the two of them were nothing more than a pair of frightened teenage girls in a hostile world. In truth, being all alone in a strange place was one of Ula's biggest fears.

After patting her cheeks to give them some color, Svena gripped Ula's hand and tugged her down the road: the two of them timidly stepped beneath an ancient-looking overpass and headed towards a makeshift construct made for keeping watch. Ula saw two more men wearing chainmail armor and concealing helmets standing atop it as she and Svena made their way across a small wooden bridge; they glanced at the girls and watched as they walked past their tower.

It made the white-haired girl feel so uncomfortable that she shrank into Svena's side.

When the road finally turned at a sharp angle, Ula and Svena darted around corner and sighed in relief; both of them were extremely relieved since their gazes could no longer linger. After giving each other a brave nod, both sisters crossed a small drawbridge and followed the cobblestone path towards the huge double doors. However, the moment they stopped to stare at them in wonder, an armored man approached them with a brisk gait.

"Halt!" he barked, making Svena jump with a squeak. "The city is off limits to travelers by order of the Jarl!"

"B-but, we came all the way from Riverwood to talk to the Jarl," Svena stammered. "Gerdur said they need help because of the dragon!"

"Riverwood's in danger, too?" the guard asked, shoulders stiffening in surprise. "That changes matters completely… both of you, go on inside the city: you'll find the Jarl up in Dragon's Reach castle."

"U-um," Svena stammered, lifting a hand when he turned to go, "my... friend, Kaikeeryn... can he…?"

"I'll notify the other guards," he grunted, shooing her off as he nodded for them to open the doors. "Open the gates!"

Ula stepped back and watched with large eyes as they opened the double doors to the city, and with a swallow she stepped through them with Svena close behind. The sight that met her eyes made her blink: in front of her was a curved stone bridge with two torches burning on both ends of it; beyond that was a myriad of different buildings, the closest of which held an old forge.

There were also lots of people walking along the cobblestone streets.

Feeling lost and out of place, Ula shivered and followed Svena when she began walking towards a dark-skinned woman who was currently in the middle of talking with an enormous blonde man. She flinched when she came closer, because it only made her realize just how deep and gruff his voice was.

"—ay whatever it takes," the man stated roughly, glaring down at the dark-skinned woman, "but we must have more swords for the Imperial soldiers."

"I just can't fill an order that size on my own," the woman sighed in exasperation, looking at him in dismay. "Why don't you just swallow that stubborn pride of yours and ask Eorlund Gray-Mane for help?"

"Ha!" the man scoffed, lip curling in disgust as he glared at the irritated woman. "I'd sooner bend my knee to Ulfric Stormcloak! Besides, Gray-Mane would never make steel for the Legion."

"Have it your way," the woman finally sighed, shaking her head in dismay before she turned and headed in the other direction. "I'll take the job, but don't expect a miracle… I doubt the Gods would give us such benevolence."

The man merely glared and headed uphill along a cobblestone path, muttering angrily to himself; the woman headed to an ancient-looking forge and continued working on whatever she had been doing before the man arrived. Ula had absolutely no idea where she was headed, or even which way to go in order to get to Dragon's Reach, but Svena did the smart thing and approached the dark-skinned woman with a fierce glint in her eyes.

"Um, excuse me?" Svena murmured softly, trying to get her attention. "May I ask you a few questions?"

"One moment!" the woman called, wiping her brow as she removed a glowing mould from the smelter; after dropping it into a bucket of water, she turned and looked at the two of them with an expression of surprise. "Well! I've never seen either of you ladies around here before… what can I do for you?"

"Do you know how we can find the Jarl at Dragon's reach?" Svena asked, glancing down at Ula to see the girl avert her eyes and shuffle her feet; several people were already starting to stare at her, and it was obviously making the girl nervous. "We don't know where anything is… so, I was wondering if you could give us some directions."

"Well, Whiterun is ruled by the Jarl up in Dragon's Reach, which is up there in the Cloud District," the woman stated, pointing up at the huge spires that were towering above the buildings. "Then there's Jorrvaskr, which is the mead hall of the Companions: their deeds of war and valor are… legendary. You might find it interesting to look around."

"Thank you so much," Svena sighed, shaking her head in relief. "My name is Svena Rossetti, and this is my sister, Ula. What's your name?"

"My name is Adrianne Avenicci," the woman explained, cracking her neck and rolling her shoulders. "Pleasure to meet you, but I have to get back to work before the storm hits us… there's a smell of rain in the air and I heard some thunder rolling across the plains a few hours ago. Don't forget to check inside my husband's shop if you need anything."

"I'll do that," Svena murmured, smiling in relief, "and thanks again."

When Adrianne turned to continue working, Ula shifted her attention to the cobblestone path that the angry man from earlier had headed down. There was a set of cobblestone steps leading towards a brick archway: with a sigh of confusion, the albino girl headed towards the stairs and jogged up them one at a time.

It took Svena a moment to notice, but when she did, she hurried after her with a startled gasp.

"Don't go off on your own!" she scolded, making the pale girl's long ears twitch downwards. "It's not safe!"

Ula hesitantly nodded and gave her an apologetic expression.

After that, the two of them started up, but when they finally made it to the top, they continued down the path at a leisurely pace.

Ula was feeling self-conscious since lots of people were looking at her now.

A deafening crack of thunder made her jump a foot into the air _and _made Svena cower with her her arms over her head. Ula immediately looked up at the gray skies to see that they were slowly darkening, but both girls shivered when the wind slowly kicked up. The two of them wordlessly clasped hands and started hurrying down the street. Ula could see Dragon's Reach in the distance, but the air was slowly growing hazy and the warmth was growing colder.

She didn't like how the wind brought a chill to her body.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Svena panted, hefting her hiking pack with a groan. "Gods, we can do this!"

However, the two of them had just passed a giant tree encircled by wooden gates and ornately placed little rivers when it began to rain.

"Ah, Gods!" the Red Guard cried, darting towards the steps leading to Dragon's Reach with Ula close behind. "Hurry! Hurry!"

The two of them sprinted past small waterfalls and deep pools of liquid: a decorative way for spring water and rain to be filtered. The girls sprinted up the stone steps, already soaked to the bone thanks to the huge drops of rain that had begun pelting them: Svena and Ula hastily ran around a corner to start up the next set of stairs, but the albino unexpectedly smacked into somebody hard enough to knock them over; the pale girl wheezed as she and whoever she'd crashed into fell onto the stairs.

"OW! Watch where you're going, you idiotic lumps!" a deep voice roared. "You could have seriously injured me!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Svena squealed, shakily hurrying over and helping Ula up. "It was an accident! We apologize!"

Without waiting to see who her sister had just crashed into, Svena dragged the girl up the stairs.

They finally made it to the huge bridge and ran across it, hurrying towards a set of colossal wooden doors. Svena immediately flew over to the left one and pushed with all of her strength, forcing it open and sliding inside just as the real downpour began: after pulling Ula in as well, she struggled to force the door closed.

While Svena was fumbling with the door, the white-haired girl doubled over, fighting to catch her breath.

Once she felt like she could breathe again, she attempted to look at her surroundings... but then, was soon standing frozen in awe, eyes widening and mouth dropping open: she was standing in front of the entrance to an enormous, ancient-looking hall that felt like it belonged to a King. Six monstrous pillars held the roof up, and all of them were connected by beautifully carved arches. There were also three circular chandeliers holding lit candles dangling from the ceiling. The albino shook her wet hair out before padding towards a flight of wooden steps.

However, just as she was about to make her way up, an argument caught her attention and she paused.

"What would you have me do, then?" a male voice with a Nordic accent demanded. "Abandon my subjects?"

"My Lord, please," a slightly more posh voice sighed, making Ula frown a little in confusion. "This is no time for rash action: we need more information before we act."

After a moment, she headed up to the top of the steps and gaped again: two enormously long tables had been stretched out on either side of a roaring fire, and in front of them was a throne; above it rested a dragon's head. It was around that time that she spotted a man sitting in the throne, and beside him was another man wearing dark blue robes. Ula was about to head over to them when a rough hand gripped her long silver hair and the feeling of cold steel was pressed against her throat.

The girl squeaked like a mouse and froze, pink eyes going wide in fright.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?" a deep female voice demanded, vibrating the girl's back. "Jarl Balgruuf is in the middle of an important meeting, and he personally requested that nobody disturb him. State your business."

Ula nearly melted into a puddle when she tried to lift her hand because her attacker pressed the blade against her throat even harder than before. Terrified tears instantly started streaming down her cheeks, and her eyes went blank when she felt a warm wetness running down her collarbone.

She was bleeding.

"Oh, Divines!" Svena suddenly gasped, making the girl freeze. "What are you doing to my sister?! Let her go!"

"Answer me!" the female voice barked, making Ula twitch. "NOW!"

"SHE CAN'T!" Svena shouted, making the woman lighten the blade. "SHE CAN'T SPEAK!"

"Explain," the woman retorted, slowly turning around and forcing Ula to stare at Svena. "Otherwise, I'll cut her throat."

"She's got a handicap!" Svena squealed, covering her mouth in horror. "From the time she was little, she's never been able to talk! I swear! Please, let my little sister go! She's only a child!"

"Why are you here?!" the woman barked. "State your business!"

"W-w-we have news of Helgen," Svena stammered, swallowing when Ula pressed her head back against her assailant's chest in order to avoid cutting herself any further on the woman's blade. "A dragon attacked it while my sister was there: once we got her out, a woman named Gerdur sent me, Ula, and our friend, Kai, to warn the Jarl! She thinks the village of Riverwood may be in danger!"

"As Housecarl, it is my duty to protect the Jarl and all his people," the feminine voice stated. "You have my attention, so explain yourself more clearly so I can assess the situation."

"Well, in short, the… imperials destroyed our village and took Ula prisoner by mistake," the Red Guard whimpered. "From what I've gathered from another man who survived, they were taken to Helgen and a dragon destroyed it! It was on fire when we arrived!"

The hand on Ula's hair was immediately lifted and instead, two hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around.

Ula dizzily stumbled and tried not to trip like a klutz as she caught her footing, but a moment later she found herself staring into an indigo-skinned face. The teenager froze and her amethyst eyes widened in surprise when she took in the woman's angular jaw, pointed ears, slanted red eyes. After blinking at the contrast between her dark blue skin and bright maroon hair, Ula didn't even know what kind of being she was looking at.

"You know about Helgen?" the odd-looking woman demanded, sheathing her sword; then she grabbed Ula's shoulders and squeezed them with an odd expression on her face. "Well… that changes matters entirely. The Jarl will definitely want to speak with you, so come with me: you girls are going to tell him what you know."

"U-u-u-uh, if you say so?" Svena hesitantly replied, blinking rapidly. "Okay."

However, her blue eyes widened when Ula was all but dragged towards the man sitting on the throne.

When the albino was literally pushed by the woman from behind, she fell flat on her face and let out a wheeze of pain; Svena instantly hurried over and helped her up, pressing a gently glowing hand against her neck and healing the wound. After a moment of shivering, she slowly sat up and rubbed her healed neck with a shaken expression.

"Who is this?" the man on the throne demanded, looking straight at the two girls with a raised eyebrow. "Irileth?"

"Visitors," the elf woman stated clearly. "This Red Guard claims her... _sister..._ knows what happened to the village of Helgen."

"Were you at Helgen?" the man immediately asked, slowly standing up; Ula flinched and stared at the ground with terrified eyes when she realized the man was enormous in size just like Ulfric and Ralof had been. She didn't like being the smallest person around: it made her feel extremely weak in comparison. "Did you see this dragon with your own eyes?"

Before Ula could so much as nod, Svena lifted a hand with a fierce expression.

"Wait a moment," she stated whispered, planting her hand on the pale girl's shoulder as she sat trembling on the floor. "Before anything is said, you should be aware that Ula can't speak and I, personally, don't know very much about what's going on. All I know is that a group of Imperials destroyed Darkwater Crossing and kidnapped my sister. From what I've learned _after_ we rescued her, the Imperials were going to execute her right along with a man named Ulfric Stormcloak: apparently, that's when the dragon attacked."

"Hmph, I should have known Ulfric would get mixed up in all this," the man muttered, lips pressing together with an expression of extreme distaste; then he turned to the man wearing the blue robes and cocked an eyebrow. "What do you say now, Proventus? Should we continue to put faith in the strength of our walls against a dragon?

"My Lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once," the blue-skinned woman stated, moving past the two girls with a firm expression on her angular face. "It's in the most immediate danger if that dragon is lurking in the mountains."

"The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation!" the robed man protested. "He'll assume we're attempting to join Ulfric's side and attack him! We should—"

"Enough!" Jarl Balgruuf finally barked, slamming his fist down on the throne. "I'll not stand idly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once!"

"Yes, my Jarl," the blue-skinned woman stated proudly, pressing a hand against her heart and bowing a little.

"If you'll excuse me," Proventus muttered, folding his hands and glaring at the Jarl. "I'll return to my duties."

"That would be best," Jarl Balgruuf agreed, watching as the man left; then he turned and eyed Svena with probing eyes before glancing at Ula, taking note of the latter's odd features and small stature when she finally stood up and brushed herself off. "Well done, Lasses: you sought me out on your own initiative, and by doing so you have done Whiterun a great service. I won't forget it, and as a way of saying thanks I will prepare a few gifts for you to take home."

"It was really nothing," Svena uneasily replied, watching as he sat down. "We're currently trying to settle down."

"There is… one more thing you could do for me," the man stated slowly, eying her supple form with something close to lust. "If I'm not mistaken, you're a mage: this is most likely something that would fit into your specific area of… talent. Come, let us go find Farengar, my court wizard: he is the one taking care of the situation involving dragons and… _rumors_ of dragons."

"W-wha—?!" Svena squeaked, eyes widening when the man stood up again and started walking away. "Hold on! What?!"

"Since you're most likely another mage, I'll introduce you to my court wizard," the man called over his shoulder, waving the girls along; Ula and Svena shared a startled glance before they uneasily began to follow him towards an open archway. "Farengar is most likely puttering around in his lab. He's always in there, day and night… I don't think he ever sleeps, honestly."

"He sounds like Uncle Rain," Svena muttered, cracking a bitter smile. "He never got any sleep, either."

Ula glanced down at the ground before she staggered, clutching her head as a sudden barrage of voices exploded behind her eyes.

She saw the Jarl... saw him speaking a hundred different sentences, saw the same room, saw the same...

No... they weren't the same.

They were all... different.

"Ula?" Svena whispered, touching the swaying girl's shoulder when she dizzily shook her head. "Ula, what's wrong?"

After a moment, the images cleared and the albino started breathing heavily.

She gave Svena a signal to let her know she was fine before trailing the burly blonde man into another large room with lots of desks. She blinked when she noticed a huge map sitting off to the side, though: for a moment, she was half tempted to ask for a copy, but then she thought better of it and lowered her eyes.

"Farengar, I think I may have found some people to help you with your dragon project," Jarl Balgruuf chuckled, planting his hands on the desk and leaning forward. "Go ahead and fill them in with all the details."

"Hmn?" a voice with a slightly refined accent inquired; Svena and Ula blinked in startled synchronicity when a young Breton wearing a hooded blue outfit walked around the desk and made his way over to them. "So, the jarl thinks you girls could be of use to me? He must be referring to my research on dragons. Actually, I very well could use someone to fetch something for me."

"W-w-w-wait!" Svena squeaked, waving her arms when Jarl Balgruuf smirked and walked away. "Um… well, I haven't decided what I'm going to do at all yet, but I guess I could hear you out… as long as it's not too extreme."

"Well, when I say fetch," the man hesitantly laughed, rubbing his arm with an awkward expression, "I actually mean delve into a dangerous ruin to retrieve an ancient stone tablet that may or may not be there. Is that… too extreme?"

"Um, yeah," Svena deadpanned, shaking her head when Ula instantly looked up at him with curious pink eyes. "Still… what would doing that have to do with studying dragons? Delving into a dangerous ruin for a stone tablet doesn't seem as though it would benefit you, unless the tablet itself had info on dragons… is that why you want someone to get it?"

"Ah, so you're not just a brainless noblewoman… you're a thinker, perhaps even a scholar," the man noted, eyes lighting up. "You see, when stories of dragons began to circulate, many dismissed them as fantasies, rumors, impossibilities. One sure mark of a fool is someone who classifies anything outside of his own experiences as being impossible. However, I began to search for information about dragons. 'Where had they gone all those years ago?' 'Where are they coming from?' Questions like that led me to discover that something had happened on this very day: I saw a black dragon flying up into the mountains."

Svena, on the other hand, immediately glared at him in offended confusion.

"Okay, let's say this in a hypothetical manner," she stated calmly, not even noticing when Ula started fumbling to get her pack off of her shoulders. "Hypothetically, what do you want us to do in order to get this stone tablet, and why on earth should I waste my time?"

"Well, hypothetically," the man stated in a thoughtful tone, "I could teach you how to use magicka on top of paying you."

"I already know how to use magicka," Svena snorted, folding her arms and cocking her hip. "In fact, I'm an expert with the restoration school."

"Then let's make a deal," the man sighed, smiling in amusement. "I'll teach your little _friend_ how to heal herself _and_ others if you get the tablet from its resting place… and I'll also pay you both one thousand pieces of gold for your efforts. Each."

"Well, I still have to talk about it with my traveling companion before I make any set decisions," Svena stated uneasily, shaking her head before she sighed. "Still, why would you go so far to retrieve this tablet?"

"Oh, uh, I recently discovered that an ancient artifact called a Dragon Stone might be buried in a place called Bleak Falls Barrow," the man explained, folding his hands and hiding them with his billowing sleeves. "The tablet is said to have a map engraved on it… and it's a map of all the old dragon burial sites, which would definitely be handy."

"Bleak Falls Barrow?" Svena whispered, eyes widening in surprise before she glanced at Ula; the albino girl was currently digging around through her hiking pack with a fervor rarely seen. "Is there anything else you can tell me about it?"

"Well, as of right now it's an old tomb that was once built by the Nords, but it's very old, perhaps predating the Dragon War by centuries," Farengar explained, looking down at the ground. "It's very close to Riverwood, which is a tiny little village resting only a few miles south from Whiterun. If you need to get accurate info, I'm sure some of the residents in that town can tell you what you seek. Aside from that, all I know is that you need a claw of sorts to get into the main antechamber… but I honestly don't know if the tablet is past the locked gateway or not."

"How could you know if the tablet IS in Bleak Falls Barrow?" Svena asked blankly. "You've never been there."

"Mages must preserve some secrets, mustn't we?" the man chuckled slyly. "I have very reliable resources."

Right around that moment, Ula's muscles strained and she pulled a square stone plaque out of her backpack.

"Whoa!" Svena gasped, mouth dropping when Ula struggled to lift it up; she instantly glanced at Farengar, who now stood gaping at the grinning white-haired girl in a stupefied manner. "So, is that the tablet you were looking for?"

"By the Divines," the wizard whispered, taking the tablet with reverent eyes. "You two are cut from a different cloth than most of the brutes the Jarl normally sends my way. How in the name of Talos did you get this?"

"Ula brought it back from Bleak Falls Barrow," Svena snorted, shaking her head. "I wasn't there, so I don't know. Anyway, could you tell me more about that Dragon War you mentioned? It sounded interesting."

"I'm not surprised you've never heard of it… even I used to think it was a myth," the man murmured, examining the tablet with a scrutinizing gaze. "However, the Dragon War was a real event, although the barest glimmer of knowledge has come down to us. Far back in the Mythic Era, the dragons were worshiped as gods. Many of the monumental ruins that still dot the landscape were, in fact, built as temples to the dragons. The details are lost, but at some point the Nords rebelled… and after a terrible war, they overthrew the beasts."

"Weren't all of the dragons killed in the war?" Svena asked, eyes widening. "I thought they were extinct!"

"Oh no, many were killed, of course, but many survived into historical times," the man explained. "Why, this very palace was built by one of Balgruuf's ancestors in order to capture a dragon— hence its name, 'Dragonsreach.'"

"Are you two finished?" Jarl Balgruuf inquired, peering around the entrance. "I'm still waiting to hear about the funds for this trip of yours!"

"Turns out we don't need to make the trip after all, Jarl Balgruuf!" Farengar laughed, eyes twinkling in delight from inside his dark blue hood. "You seem to have found me some very able assistants! They've already found the tablet and proven themselves to be extremely useful: they have a rare form of potential."

"Interesting," the blonde man stated slowly, looking down at Ula and Svena with commanding green eyes. "Well, Whiterun is in your debt, now. Make sure these ladies are paid in full, Farengar."

And with that, the man strode out of the room again and returned to his throne, leaving behind two stunned teenage girls.


End file.
